No More Turnabout
by Berserker88
Summary: Phoenix Wright has faced many challenges in his long and storied career. But now he faces what may be his greatest challenge ever: proving Travis Touchdown not guilty.
1. A New Client

_Author's Note: Here it is, my second weird crossover idea. A crossover between possibly my two favorite video game franchises ever: Ace Attorney and No More Heroes. Like with Kung Fu Panda and Skunk Fu, there are so many similarities between these two franchises that I can't believe I'm the first one to do this. There's just a couple things I need to point out before this gets started._

_First of all, this story is going to be in first-person perspective. It just seemed easier to write it that way._

_Second of all, this story is going to take place shortly after the end of Trails and Tribulations. I have played Dual Destinies and it's a fantastic game, but I find the original trilogy era easier to work with._

_Lastly, I'm going to try something that I've seen a lot of Ace Attorney fanfics do. Namely, I am going to be making this story look as much like the games as possible, including a "Court Record" at the end of each chapter. That should help you to keep track of everything that's going on._

_Okay, this author's note has been way too long, so on with the story._

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: A New Client<p>

**April 13, ****9:35 AM**

**Wright and Co. Law Offices**

It all started out like an ordinary day.

I got out of bed, had breakfast, brushed my teeth, cleaned the toilet, and mostly just sat around the office, not getting much of anything accomplished. I knew there was the possibility of getting a call from a client to solve some new, bizarre case, but at this point, that _was _an ordinary day for me. It wasn't like I was any kind of stranger to bizarre cases either. Hell, just a couple months ago, I was in a trail that involved having to exorcise an evil spirit out of my assistant.

Speaking of which, Maya was here today too. She was now the master of the Kurain channeling technique and really should've been up in the mountains training for that role, but she still insisted on spending a large chunk of her time visiting me. It wasn't like the other spirit mediums could really stop her, since she _was _the master and all. I had concerns about the fate of the Fey clan, but I couldn't say that I minded her company. It got pretty lonely at the office without her.

Though on days like this, I learned to really appreciate the quiet.

"Maya! Put that broom down!" I ducked to avoid the blunt object that Maya inadvertently swung at my head. Good thing I did because she swung again right after, just missing our potted plant.

"Yeah! Samurai Slash!" she shouted, clearly not even noticing me. No points for guessing what was just on TV right now.

"That was the best Steel Samurai episode EVER!" Maya held the broom over her head and threw it to the floor with a loud battle cry. Knowing how excited she got at times like this, I was thankful she didn't try to break it over her knee.

"Seemed about the same as always," I mumbled quietly. Unfortunately, it wasn't quiet enough, and now Maya was glaring at me like I was the spawn of Satan.

"Are you kidding?! Did you see that sword fight at the end?! Those were some amazing production values! I wish I could see a fight like that in real life!"

"Uh...I hate to break it to you Maya, but those kinds of fights don't _happen_ in real life."

"Whaaaaaat?!"

_(Don't tell me this was actually news to her!)_

In the midst of wondering just how sheltered Maya really was, a news bulletin popped up on the TV.

"_This just in: a vicious murder has been committed in the city of Santa Destroy. Information is still coming in, but from what we know so far, the victim was an employee of the local video store Beef Head. The police have already apprehended a suspect and brought him into custody at..."_

The bulletin continued on, but I wasn't paying attention to it anymore. "A murder in Santa Destroy, huh? That's hardly newsworthy. Must be a slow day."

Maya looked at me quizzically, finally calming down a bit. "What do you mean, Nick? What is this Santa Destroy place?"

I bit my lip, not really wanting to talk about this. "It's a city. A _bad_ city. I'm talking murders happening on an hourly basis. I mean, it's nice that the police seem to be interested for once...but some places are just a lost cause."

"I see..." Maya looked down at the ground uncomfortably. I suddenly felt guilty for telling her that. Maya's enthusiasm and cheerfulness could be a bit much at times, but the last thing I wanted to do was extinguish it.

I heard the Steel Samurai theme kick in again and was inwardly relieved. Even if I was dreading the resulting chaos, it would at least perk her back up.

"Nick, are you going to answer your phone?" Maya asked.

I tried to hide my embarrassment as I realized that I had mistaken my phone's Steel Samurai ringtone for the actual show, something that happened far more often than I'd like to admit.

_(I should really change that ringtone, but I don't think Maya would ever forgive me.)_

I let Maya go back to the TV as I walked as far away from it as I could. In the chance that there really was another Steel Samurai episode coming, I didn't want the person on the other end to think I was in some kind of insane asylum. I flipped open the phone and put it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Hello? Is this the Wright and Co. Law Offices?" asked a woman with an accent I couldn't quite place.

"Yes, this is Phoenix Wright speaking," I answered formally.

"Good. There has been a murder and the police have made a false arrest. I am in need of an attorney."

_(Well that was...blunt.)_

I was a bit caught off guard for a moment, not used to clients that were so straight to the point. "...Understood, Miss. Just tell me where you are being held and we can discuss the details there."

I heard laughter on the other end. "No, no, no, _I_ am not the one who was arrested," she said, as if she found the very idea amusing. "The suspect in the case is...an associate of mine. I am calling you on his behalf." I assumed that the suspect was the type who didn't like to ask for help. I had clients like that before.

"So? Are you going to defend him or not?"

"I'll have to question him in person before I come to that decision," I answered honestly. "But if he is truly innocent, then I should see no problem in defending him."

"Good," the woman answered again. "In that case, you can find him down at the detention center in Santa Destroy. Thank you for your assistance."

"Sure, I-wait what?!"

The woman had already hung up.

_(Great. Me and my big mouth.)_

I just stood there for a moment as it slowly dawned on me what I had just gotten myself into. I had just agreed to speak with what was most likely a deranged axe murderer in a city that I didn't want to so much as drive _past, _let alone _to._ I should have realized that the murder they were talking about on TV would be the one that she was calling about. That happened to me all the time!

"Hey Nick, who was that on the phone?" asked Maya, finally pulling herself away from the TV. The Steel Samurai was indeed on again, but it must have been a rerun as I seemed to have her full attention. Lucky me.

I put a hand to my forehead and sighed. "Maya, do you remember that murder in Santa Destroy that was just on the news?"

"Yeah?"

I could't really articulate what I wanted to say next. Instead, I just groaned.

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people. _

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me. _

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright _

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_?_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on the suspect's behalf._


	2. Travis

_Here's chapter 2 already. I wanted to get another one out quickly because the first chapter was so short. Once we actually get the investigation started, they'll get longer._

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Travis<p>

My first thought upon entering the bus to Santa Destroy was that I wished now more than ever that I had a driver's license.

The ride was...unpleasant to say the least. There were a lot of surly men sitting beside me who, if I didn't know better, I could swear were members of the Yakuza. Most of them were even carrying katanas. Needless to say, I thought Maya and I would be dead before we even got there.

Oh yes, Maya came too. I really didn't want her to for the obvious reason of getting murdered, but she insisted. In hindsight, I don't know why I thought for a second that I could stop her. I was just happy that Pearls hadn't gotten involved.

It felt like days before we finally got off that bus, though the city itself was only about three hours away. And I had to admit...Santa Destroy didn't look as bad as I expected. From all the horror stories I had heard about this place, I was pretty much expecting it to be covered in barbed wire, bullet holes, skulls on pikes...okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but could you blame me?

As it was, the place just looked like your typical resort town. In fact, it almost looked _too_ typical, as if whoever designed it wasn't quite sure what to do with it. In any case, that made it pretty easy to navigate and soon we were standing at the doors to the detention center.

* * *

><p><strong>April 13, 12: 42 PM<strong>

**Santa Destroy – Detention Center**

Now _this _is more like what I was expecting.

The detention center was, to put it nicely, a mess. It was an old, brick building that looked like it hadn't been renovated for decades. Knowing this city's police force, it probably hadn't. It was a far cry from the detention center back in LA, that's for sure. I was almost surprised when a guard came up to us and asked for identification. At least they followed protocol.

I presented my attorney's badge, one of the few occasions that this was actually appropriate. "My name is Phoenix Wright. I'm a defense attorney, here to see the suspect in last night's murder."

The guard looked at me as if I was nuts, but let me in anyway. Definitely not a good sign. As we entered the visitor's room, which looked like a more run-down version of the one back home, I noticed that Maya had been unusually quiet for a while now. She sat in the steel chair, tapping her fingers together nervously.

"Are you regretting coming along yet?" I asked.

"Maybe a little." She suddenly burst out laughing. "But it was worth it to see the look on your face during the ride over! It's a good thing I came or else you probably would've had a panic attack!"

_(Sadly, I can't argue that.)_

Well, it was clear that Maya was okay, so all that was left to do was wait for my client. I wasn't sure what to think of the man who eventually walked in and sat himself down. He didn't exactly look like a murderer...but he didn't exactly look _innocent _either.

He was a young man, probably around the same age as me, with black hair and sideburns. He wore a bright red jacket and a T-shirt depicting what looked like characters from some anime. His jeans were old and tattered and there seemed be a large belt with several hooks attached going around his waist. He also wore a pair of yellow sunglasses, through which he was currently glaring at me.

I tried to remain calm, suddenly worried that the sheet of glass in front of me might not be adequate protection. It did have a few noticeable cracks in it.

_(No, I need to relax. I've dealt with this kind of client before. He looks unpleasant, but he might be a perfectly nice person.)_

The man looked between me and Maya and grunted. "Who the fuck are you?"

_(So much for that.)_

"Nick, I don't think he likes us," said Maya, shying away from him. That much was obvious, but I figured I should at least answer his question.

"My name is Phoenix Wright, a defense attorney. This is my assistant, Maya Fey." Maya nervously waved at him.

"Defense attorney? You mean a lawyer? I don't need a damn lawyer." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

I would've pointed out that, yes, he clearly did, but I doubted that would win me any points with him. Thankfully, Maya spoke up first. "Umm...so what's your name?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Boy, you're sure on top of things. I feel so safe in your hands."

I was starting to regret not paying more attention to that news bulletin. "Yes...well, we didn't actually know much about the case before we came down here. But there was this woman who called me and-"

"Woman?" he asked, suddenly looking a lot more interested.

_(That's right, those two know each other. That might be a good starting point.)_

"Yes, she called me this morning and told me to come visit you. She didn't give me her name, though. All I remember was that she had this strange accent-"

"Sylvia."

This guy really had to stop interrupting me. "Sylvia?"

He nodded. "Sylvia Christel. My girlfriend."

"G-Girlfriend?!"

He glared at me again. "What, you don't think I could get a girlfriend?"

"Well, n-no, it's just..."

_(I seem to remember her calling you an "associate".)_

I decided against telling him that and just let my sentence trail off. He didn't seem to care too much though and stared off to the side. "What the hell is she up to this time?" he mumbled. After a moment, he turned back to us. "Anyway, the name's Travis Touchdown. Don't forget it."

"Nice to meet you, Travis," Maya greeted, already looking more comfortable around him.

Travis was looking closely at Maya now. Specifically, at her outfit. "So what are you supposed to be anyway?"

"I'm the master of the Kurain channeling technique!" He just stared at her blankly.

"She's a spirit medium," I explained.

His eyes widened. "So you can like...talk to dead people?"

"Uh-huh."

"Seriously? That's pretty sweet."

"Thanks!" she grinned. "See Nick? He's not such a bad guy after all."

_(Well at least he likes ONE of us.)_

I cleared my throat, trying to get back on topic. "So Mr. Touchdown, can you tell us why you arrested?"

Travis shrugged, leaning back in his seat again. "Beats me. Apparently, that chick at Beef Head videos was killed and the cops are blaming me for it. They just showed up at my door last night and dragged me down here. I tried to fight them off, but one of them had a taser and, well..."

"So you resisted arrest," I said, feeling the onset of a migraine coming on. He wasn't making my job easier, that's for sure.

"You're damn right I did! I would've done a hell of a lot more than 'resist' too if I had a beam katana on me."

"A _what?"_

Travis chuckled. "You must be new here. Beam katanas are all the rage in this city. It's one of the best weapons an assassin can own."

I would've asked more about what a beam katana was, but I was a little distracted by something else he said. "AN ASSASSIN?!"

"That's right," he smirked. "I'm guessing you've never met an assassin before?"

Unfortunately, I had. It wasn't exactly one of my favorite cases, but then again...

I looked over to Maya, who was staring at Travis in shock. She had been far more affected by that case than I was, having been kidnapped and nearly starved to death. I wouldn't be surprised if she demanded that I not defend him and I would be pretty hard-pressed to refuse her.

"Woah, cool!"

Not exactly the reaction I was expecting. "M-Maya!"

"What? You shouldn't judge an entire group of people based on the actions of one."

"I really don't think that applies here."

_(Plus, I'm pretty sure assassins should not be considered 'cool'.)_

Travis gave me a hard look. "I know what you're thinking, but I didn't kill that chick! The only people I kill are criminals and other assassins."

Admittedly, that _was _a bit reassuring. "Alright, so what were you doing the night of the murder?"

Travis paused for a moment before he answered. "I was home all night, watching anime."

I saw a flash of light in front of me and knew what was coming next. A series of chains criss-crossed in front of Travis and two large, red locks appeared over top of them.

_(Psyche-Locks. You're not exactly earning my trust here, buddy.)_

Still, seeing those locks gave me an idea. There was only one way that I would be comfortable defending this man and that was if was truly innocent. I could feel the Magatama glowing in my pocket as I asked my next question. "Mr. Touchdown, did you kill-" I stopped myself before I could make the same mistake I did the last time I tried this. "Were you in any way involved with the victim's death?"

He gritted his teeth. "I told you! I had nothing to do with it!"

No Psyche-Locks appeared.

I nodded. "Very well. In that case, I am willing to defend you."

"Really, Nick?" Maya asked, surprised by my decision. Frankly, I was too.

"Yes, Maya. He may have killed a lot of people in the past, and will probably do so again, but I know now that he is at least innocent of _this_ crime. It is my duty to defend him."

_(That sounded way better in my head.)_

I turned back to Travis. "If you want my help, I need you to write a letter of request accepting me as your attorney."

He sighed. "I guess I don't have a choice." He got a pen and paper from the guard and started writing up the letter.

Not once on the way here did I expect to actually be taking this guy's case. Either I was a lot more noble than I thought, or a complete lunatic.

If only I knew how much worse it was going to get.

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people. _

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me. _

_Letter of request_

_Travis's agreement to let me defend him. I really hope this was a good idea._

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright _

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and trusted friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_Travis Touchdown_

_Age: 31_

_My client, who also happens to be an assassin. He's not the most likable guy, but I know that he's at least innocent of this crime._

_Sylvia Christel_

_Age: 28_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on Travis's behalf. She's apparently his girlfriend though she doesn't seem to agree with that assessment._


	3. Begin Investigation

_In which I give my take on one of the biggest mysteries of the series: What DOES Phoenix do with the stuff he puts in the Court Record? Does he photograph it? Take it from the scene? The games seem to go back and forth on this, so I just made up my own theory. According to this story, Phoenix's crappy retro cell phone happens to have a pretty good camera function and he only takes the stuff that's outside the crime scene or outright given to him._

_Do with that what you will._

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Begin Investigation<p>

**April 13, 1: 10 PM**

**Santa Destroy – Beef Head Videos**

I was honestly surprised to see the police at the crime scene. I had been under the distinct impression that the police in this city hardly cared. But then I realized that I may have been right along, as I saw that they were led by the familiar face of Detective Gumshoe. "Hey, Detective! Over here!" Maya called out as she waved to him. Gumshoe took immediate notice of us and seemed just as surprised as we were as he walked over.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"We could ask you the same thing, Detective," I said. "Shouldn't this case be handled by the Santa Destroy police department?"

Gumshoe laughed, as did a few officers that overheard us. "Yeah right, pal! Those imbeciles don't know squat about how to handle a murder investigation. The Chief of Police made a call and had our guys put on this case instead."

_(So OUR police force is the competent one? That's a scary thought.)_

"Why all the interest in this case? This is far from the first murder committed in this city."

Gumshoe laughed again. "You're so out of the loop, pal! That's just like you." Before I could recover from the shame of being laughed at by Gumshoe, he continued. "Don't you know? The defendant is practically a celebrity in this city."

"Mr. Touchdown is famous?!" Maya gasped. "Does that have to do with him being an assassin?"

"Yup. He's some kind of urban hero to these people. That makes him famous."

_(Infamous is more like it.)_

I ignored the questionable choice of heroes in this city, because why should that surprise me at this point, and focused on the investigation. "Detective, I have a letter of request from Mr. Touchdown. May we investigate the scene?"

I handed the letter to Gumshoe, who looked it over. "So that's why you're here. Wow, you'll just take any case that drops at your feet won't you?"

_(...I'll choose to take that as a compliment.)_

"Anyway, this looks good, so you're free to investigate." With that, Gumshoe stepped out of our way and let us take a look around the store.

It was a relatively small place, no bigger than the office, with only a few rows of shelves and an employee desk at the back. One of those shelves happened to be completely blocking our view of the crime scene and now we could finally take a look. We saw the usual outline of the body lying in between two shelves. There were a few scattered videos lying on top of it, which I assumed must have been knocked off the shelf during the murder. A small puddle of blood was lying in front of the outline and one VHS case was sitting in it.

"Who was the victim?" I asked Detective Gumshoe.

"Diane Heifer. She was an employee here, working her night shift when the murder happened. Here's a photo of how we found the body." He reached into his trench coat and handed me a photo.

_Crime Scene Photo added to the Court Record_

The victim shown in the photo looked, in one word, unremarkable. She was a young woman with red hair wearing a plain white shirt and jeans. The video cases lying on the floor were lying on top of her body in the photo, but the scene looked otherwise identical. There was one thing that stuck out to me though. There appeared to be a large, black mark on the victim's lower back.

"Is that...a burn mark?"

"Sure is, though we couldn't tell you what made it. We found a similar mark on her chest, which tells us she was impaled with _something._"

Maya hopped up and down with excitement. "Oh, maybe the killer used a flaming sword, Nick!"

"Don't be ridiculous."

_(Actually, that was my first thought too.)_

"So you don't know what the murder weapon was."

"Fraid' not, pal. We do have the autopsy report though. Here, you can have a copy."

_Diane's Autopsy Report added to the Court Record._

"You're being awfully cooperative today, Detective," said Maya.

He rubbed the back of his head. "I just figured you could use the help, pal."

_(In other words, he's taking pity on us.)_

I looked back at the crime scene, now focusing on the VHS tape lying in the victim's blood. Upon, closer inspection, I noticed that the inside of the case was empty. "Was the video in here stolen after the murder?"

"Looks like it. We're guessing that video was the killer's motive."

"What kind of monster would kill someone over a movie rental?"

_(An assassin.)_

I really hated my inner voice sometimes.

I pulled out my cell phone and snapped a picture of the VHS case. It was undoubtedly important evidence.

_Bloody VHS Case added to the Court Record._

With that done, we continued our investigation over at the employee desk. "That desk is way cleaner than yours, Nick."

"It _is _pretty spotless." Aside from a cash register and computer monitor, the only other thing of note was a small desk calender sitting by the corner. The top of it was adorned with the head of a cow, much like the one on the building itself.

"Looks like Beef Head sells more than just movies and video games."

"We should get one of these for the office," Maya suggested.

"A cow? That doesn't exactly fit the image of a law firm."

"Sure it does! Think of it this way: Our defense is as stubborn and unmovable as a cow!"

_(I'm not sure that's a good thing...)_

"Hey look, isn't that the victim's name?" Maya pointed to the top of the paper, where "Diane" was clearly written. Below that was the month of April, where each day of the week was marked with time frames.

"This must be the victim's work schedule," I deduced. "That could be useful." I snapped a picture of it as well.

_Desk Calender added to the Court Record._

We continued to look around for a while, but didn't find anything else noteworthy. We were about to call it a wrap when I literally tripped over one last piece of evidence.

"Nick, are you okay?"

"Yeah...I'm fine." I had been walking between another pair of shelves when something caught my foot and sent me to the ground. I stood back up and looked down to see what that "something" was.

"Um...what is it?" Maya asked.

"I...have no idea."

It appeared to be a small metallic device coated in silver and red. It had a hand grip of some kind that I used to pick it up. "Hey, Detective Gumshoe! Do you know what this thing is?"

Gumshoe saw the thing in my hand and sighed. "Nope. We've been trying to figure that mystery object out for a while now."

"Hmm..."I toyed around with the device, trying to figure it out. "This definitely seems like a hand grip, so it must be held like this. Oh, and it feels like there's a trigger here as well. I'll just give it a little squeeze..."

"GAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

I must have jumped ten feet in the air as a beam of brilliant red light suddenly shot out of the device. In my shock, I dropped it on the ground and tried to get back to a healthy heart rate again. Looking down at it, I saw that the beam only came out about a foot-and-a-half and curved a little before stopping to form a blade. How that worked, I had no idea. I just knew that had I been holding it backwards, my career would have ended right there.

Maya, naturally, had a different reaction. "Wow, that thing is so awesome!"

"Awesome?! It could have killed me!"

_(Wait! That's it!)_

"Could this thing be the murder weapon?"

Gumshoe and the other officers were now looking at the device as well. "I think so, pal. We still don't know what exactly it is though."

Maya put a finger to her chin in thought. "Hey, maybe this is one of those 'beam katana' things that Travis mentioned."

"I think you're right, Maya. We should go back and talk to him about this."

Refusing to touch it again, I photographed the beam katana from a safe distance and let the police take it from there.

_Beam Katana added to the Court Record._

__Diane's Autopsy Report_ updated in the Court Record_

I nervously watched the officers as they tried to figure out how to turn it off. "I just hope that thing doesn't end up killing more people in here."

Gumshoe nodded. "Yeah, that'd be a real shame. I hear this store is struggling for business already, what with online streaming, Netflix, and that murder last year."

I did a double-take. "Huh? What murder?"

"Apparently, there was a murder just last year in this very same store. An employee was killed on his night shift, much like the victim in this case. I'm afraid I don't know much else about it. The police department here is particularly lacking on info for it."

"Well, I guess we have more than one thing to discuss with out client then. Let's go, Maya."

"Goodbye, Detective!" Maya waved as we left the store. Gumshoe waved back, the expression on his face still saying "Why the heck are you doing this?".

I wish I had an answer.

* * *

><p><strong>April 13, 1: 35 PM<strong>

**Santa Destroy – Detention Center**

"So what's the story?" asked Travis as we came back to the visitor's room.

He didn't seem like the type to beat around the bush, so I decided to get right to the point. "The victim was a woman named Diane Heifer. Did you know her?"

"Not personally, but I did see her at Beef Head a lot. She was always nagging me about late rentals."

I remembered what Detective Gumshoe said about the killer's supposed motive and gulped. "...Right. Anyway, could you take a look at this?" I took out my phone and brought up the picture of the beam katana.

That got his attention instantly. "Hey! That's mine! Where did you find that?"

"The crime scene. It was the murder weapon."

He looked away and started tapping his foot anxiously. "...Well, shit."

_(Is that really all he has to say?!)_

"Don't worry Travis, we know you didn't do it!" Maya said. "We believe in you!"

"Thanks." I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. "What about the other one?"

"Other one?"

"Yeah. That beam katana, the Rose Nasty, is a dual set. There should be another blade."

_R__ose Nasty updated in the Court Record._

"Wait a minute," Maya said. "Does that mean that there are more kinds of beam katanas than that one?

Travis smiled. "Oh yeah, there's a ton. There's the Blood Berry, the Tsubaki set, the Camellia, the Peony..."

I could swear Maya's head was about to explode with the way she was shaking. "Nick, I want to collect them all!"

_(I somehow don't think that beam katanas will catch on like trading cards.)_

"In any case..." I said, desperately trying to get back on topic. "...if this is indeed one of your beam katanas, than the killer must have stolen it from you."

The good news is that Travis seemed to be done with the beam katana tangent. The bad news is that he now looked ready to rip someone's head off. "YOU MEAN SOME FUCKER BROKE INTO MY MOTEL ROOM?!"

I nearly fell out of my chair. "Um...yes, that seems likely."

Travis's fists clenched at his sides. "Someone's gonna pay for this..."

"Yes, someone is going to pay for this," I reassured him. "_Legally."_

He snorted. "Fine, we'll play it your way."

_(That was easier than I expected.)_

"In that case, do you think you could lend us the key to your motel room? The killer might have left some clues behind when they broke in."

"I guess...just don't touch my merchandise! Oh, and take care of Jeane for me while you're there too."

_Motel Room Key added to the Court Record_

"Who's Jeane?" Maya asked.

"My cat."

I shuddered as another Matt Engarde flashback hit me. How fitting that this would come up in a case involving an assassin. "Sure. Now where do you live?"

"I'm on the second floor of Motel No More Heroes. You can't miss it, it's right next to Beef Head."

_(So you live within walking distance of the crime scene. Wonderful.)_

"Alright, Nick! Let's get going!" Maya was about to jump out of her seat when I stopped her.

"Not yet, Maya. There's still one more thing I want to ask about."

"Yeah? What is it?" Travis asked, a bit suspiciously. He was probably expecting me to ask about what he was doing the night of the murder again, but I knew I still didn't have the evidence to break those Psyche-Locks. Instead, I asked about something else that came up today.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about a murder in that same video store a year ago, would you?

He visibly flinched at the question and I knew where this was going before he even answered. "...No. I've never heard about that."

The two Psyche-Locks from before appeared again.

_(These two issues must be related somehow, but what is the connection?)_

"Alright. Thanks anyway." Knowing that I wasn't going to get anywhere else, I got up and left with Maya. The more I learned about this case, the more hopeless it seemed. But that had never stopped me before.

I just had to figure out what Travis was hiding from me.

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people. _

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me. _

_Crime Scene Photo_

_Shows the victim lying face down between two shelves, covered in video tapes and a burn mark on her back._

_Diane's Autopsy Report_

_Death caused by impalement from a beam katana. Time of death estimated between 9-10 PM. _

_Bloody VHS Case_

_Found lying in a pool of blood in front of the victim. The edges and part of the front cover are stained with blood. The video itself is missing and presumed stolen._

_Desk Calendar_

_A Beef Head-styled calendar that belonged to the victim. It shows Diane's work schedule for the night of the murder as 6:00-9:30 PM._

_Rose Nasty_

_A beam katana that belongs to Travis. It has two blades, one of which was the murder weapon. The other was not found._

_Motel Room Key_

_The key to Travis's room at Motel No More Heroes._

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright _

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and trusted friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_Travis Touchdown_

_Age: 31_

_My client, who also happens to be an assassin. He's not the most likable guy, but I know that he's at least innocent of this crime._

_Sylvia Christel_

_Age: 27_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on Travis's behalf. She's apparently his girlfriend though she doesn't seem to agree with that assessment._

_Dick Gumshoe_

_Age: 33_

_The detective on this case, as per usual. He's apparently the lesser of two evils when compared to the Santa Destroy police._

_Diane Heifer_

_Age: 21_

_The victim in this case. An employee at Beef Head Videos who was killed during her night shift._


	4. Getting Serious

_In this chapter, I bring in my favorite character from No More Heroes. Probably not too hard to guess who that is._

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Getting Serious<p>

"So this is the place?"

The question was a bit redundant. I doubted there were many buildings in the area that had "No More Heroes" in giant letters on the roof.

_(What a weird name for a motel.)_

"Looks like it," Maya said. "Let's go check it out." We headed up the stairs to the second floor. This place really was close to Beef Head Videos as I could see the police still investigating the place from up here. It didn't take us long to find the door to Travis's room and we used the key to unlock it.

* * *

><p><strong>April 13, 1:42 PM<strong>

**Motel No More Heroes – Travis's Room**

Let me tell you, if the outside of the motel seemed a little surreal, it was nothing compared to the inside.

Travis seemed to be a collector of some kind. He had movies, video games, action figures, wrestling masks, and various other trinkets lining just about every inch of the place. It looked like a pretty small room, but I knew that investigating here was going to be a hassle.

Maya was looking around the place in wonder. "Look at all this cool stuff he has!" I was starting to get a little worried about how much of a Travis fan she was becoming.

There was a small meow from the bedroom and a small, gray cat walked out.

_(Right. I forgot about his cat.)_

"Aww, he's so cute!" Maya rushed right over and started scratching the cat on the head, an action that she responded to by leaning into her hand and purring. "Nick, you start investigating. I'm gonna get Jeane her food."

I was getting the feeling that Maya would be "busy" for quite some time, so I was on my own now. As if this wasn't hard enough.

The first thing I examined was the door to the room. As I expected, there were no apparent signs of forced entry. If there were, Travis would have spotted them already. I figured the killer must have used a lockpick to get in, or perhaps a spare key. But that didn't tell me much of anything, so I moved on.

I started scouring the shelves for anything that was out of place, though with the kind of weird stuff I found on them, it was hard to tell what was _in _place. One thing I learned during this search was that Travis had more porn lying around than a hormonal teenager. I was kind of glad now that Maya wasn't checking it with me. She really didn't need anything else corrupting her.

It wasn't until I got to the video shelf next to the TV that I found something even Travis would consider odd. There was one tape that was not lined up in the shelf like the others. It was sitting right on the top...and missing a cover.

_(I've got a bad feeling about this.)_

I looked at the side of the tape and saw exactly what I had been dreading: blood. Just a few spots, but more than enough to confirm that this was the tape stolen from Beef Head.

_Stolen VHS Tape added to the Court Record._

Whoever was trying to frame Travis was certainly doing a good job. If it weren't for the Magatama, I probably would have lost faith in him already.

"Hey Nick, find anything to prove Travis innocent yet?" Maya had already fed Jeane and was now sitting on Travis's chair with the cat on her lap, continuing to stroke her head.

"No...not really..." I answered. "Do you think you could maybe help me out a bit?"

She pouted. "But then Jeane would have to move."

"This is true, yes."

She sighed and gently pushed Jeane away. "Sorry girl, but Nick says you have to get off."

_(Great, now the cat is going to hate me.)_

Maya got off the chair and joined me again. "So where should we look next?"

"Well, I think it's safe to say we won't find anything useful in the bathroom..."

"I don't know. Maybe Travis's toilet could use some cleaning."

I ignored her. "...so let's look in the bedroom."

Travis's bedroom was less chaotic than the living room, but not by much. There was still memorabilia covering most of the wall, but at least it looked like a normal bedroom, with one large bed, a wardrobe, a few shelves and a desk. The desk had a picture of a woman with her face scribbled out for whatever reason, some action figures and a hybrid phone/fax machine."

"I admit, I have to respect a guy that owns a fax. I wonder what he uses it for."

"Maybe that's how he gets his assassin jobs."

"Don't you think his employers would be a little more discreet?"

She shrugged. "Who knows? It's not like the police here would ever catch it anyway."

"...True."

"Hey, it looks like the light next to the phone is blinking."

"Yeah, you're right." I reached over to push the corresponding button.

"You have one new message..." the answering machine droned. "Hi, this is Diane from Beef Head Videos. I wanted to let you know that your video membership is now revoked until you return one of our videos. You know the one. Return it already!" The message ended there.

"That was the victim," I noticed.

"She sounded pissed too. Travis really does have a history of late rentals, huh?

_(How hard is it to return a video when you live right next to the place?)_

I looked at the small screen next to the phone, which showed when the message was recorded. "8: 55 last night. That's right before the time frame for the murder."

_Answering Machine Message added to the Court Record._

"Alright, let's split up. I'll check the bed, you check the wardrobe."

"Got it!"

I looked over the bed, not noticing anything odd about it except for the weird body pillow. I was actually kind of impressed by how well made it was, especially compared to mine. I then checked underneath and found that it had a wooden drawer built into the side. I grabbed the handle and yanked it open.

"Holy...!"

The drawer was filled with beam katanas, or at least what I could assume were beam katanas based on their design. I really didn't feel up to testing my theory after almost losing my arm the last time I held one. Speaking of which, I saw one particular katana in here that looked almost exactly like the one before.

_(This must be the other blade for the Rose Nasty.)_

_Rose Nasty updated in the Court Record._

"What is it Nick? Did you find something?"

I slammed the drawer shut. "No, nothing."

_(The last thing I need is Maya finding out about these.)_

"Did _you _find anything?"

"Hee hee. Take a look and find out."

I peeked over the bed and my jaw dropped when I saw Maya standing there wearing one of Travis's red jackets and a pair of shades. "How do I look?"

"M-Maya! Put that back!"

"Come on, at least take a picture first." She posed and did a thumbs-up.

I knew that she wasn't going to let this go, so I brought up my phone and snapped a picture of her. "There, I got it. Now put that b-hey, what's this?" As I looked at the picture I just took, I noticed something sticking out of the closest behind Maya. "What's that in the closest?"

"Oh this?" Maya reached in and pulled out a...teddy bear?

_(Okay, definitely wasn't expecting that.)_

Maya giggled. "Isn't it adorable? I bet Travis hides it in his closest because he's embarrassed that he likes stuffed animals."

"I somehow don't think that's the reason." That teddy bear was so out-of-place that it warranted a picture of its own.

_Teddy Bear added to the Court Record._

I put my phone back in my pocket and took one last look around the room. "I think that's about all we're going to find in here. Let's check outside for more clues."

"Got it."

"_After _you put those clothes back."

"Awww..."

* * *

><p><strong>April 13, 1:54 PM<strong>

**Motel No More Heroes – Parking Lot**

We didn't actually get to investigate anything outside, but at the time, that was hardly our greatest concern.

As we walked down the stairs of the motel, we heard a crude voice calling to us. "Hey, you!" There were three men dressed in black suits approaching us. They wore hats that concealed their eyes, but they could apparently see _us _perfectly fine. "Are you Phoenix Wright?"

Maya and I shared nervous looks as the men stopped in front of us."...That's me. What do you want?"

In hindsight, I probably should have said no.

All at once, the men reached into their suits and pulled out guns. Maya shrieked and hid behind me, as much good as that would do. As for me, I was horrified. Not that I was about to die, but that it was all my fault for getting involved in this in the first place.

_(I knew I shouldn't have come here! I knew I shouldn't have brought Maya! Oh Mia, please forgive me.)_

I shut my eyes and gripped Maya'a hand tightly as we waited for the end to come.

The men fired.

And nothing happened.

I slowly opened my eyes again, looking to see how we were still alive. The thought crossed my mind that we might actually be dead right now, but that didn't seem right. The scene in front of me still looked exactly how I remembered it. There were still the three thugs, they still had their weapons drawn, and...

...and who was that guy?

Now standing between us and the thugs was a man with short, auburn hair, wearing black pants and a waistcoat. He had a beam katana drawn, one that was bright purple and seemed to have four smaller beams that emitted from the handle.

"Looks like I got here just in time," the man said. He had a noticeable Irish accent.

The three thugs seemed just as surprised as we were, but they regained their composure much faster. "Get out of our way unless you want to die too," the leader growled.

It was the last thing he ever said.

The Irishman swung his beam katana and cut the man in half at the waist. One of the remaining thugs yelped and flinched away while the other reacted by pointing his gun at the Irishman. Before he had the chance to fire, the man's foot struck out and kicked him in the gut. While he was doubled over in pain, the beam katana swung up and separated his head from his shoulders.

The remaining thug was panicked now, dropping his weapon and running away. The Irishman didn't give chase. Instead, he crouched down low to the ground and held the katana in front of him. It glowed an even brighter purple as three orbs of energy materialized over him. He swung the katana forward and the orbs converged on the fleeing man, bursting him like a balloon.

Naturally, Maya and I were completely freaked out during this entire event. Even if we had dealt with murder for a good portion of our lives, seeing people being killed right in front of us was a different story.

The Irishman deactivated his beam katana and attached it to his belt. He then turned around to face us, wearing a friendly smile despite all that just happened. He extended a gloved hand towards me. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wright." Unfortunately, I wasn't able to shake his hand.

I had already fainted.

* * *

><p><strong>April 13, 2:15 PM<strong>

**Motel No More Heroes – Travis's Room**

When I woke up, I was sprawled across Travis's bed back in the motel. Jeane was lying on top of my chest in a similar fashion to the way she sat on Maya earlier, so either she forgave me for kicking her off or she had a sense of irony.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Mr. Wright."

I turned my head towards the voice and found the Irsihman standing in the doorway. "Nick!" Maya came rushing out from behind him and wrapped me in a hug as I sat up. "You're alive! I was so worried!"

"I wasn't the only one in danger, you know," I reminded her.

"No, but you _were _the only one to faint," the Irsihman smirked.

"Who are you?" I glared at him suspiciously. As far as I knew, he was just as dangerous as the guys outside, if not more.

He stepped out of the doorway and gave a short bow. "Henry Cooldown. I'm Travis's twin brother." I'm not sure what answer I was expecting, but it sure as heck wasn't _that_ one.

"BROTHER?!"

He chuckled. "Yes, I believe he had a similar reaction when we first met. We're fraternal, you see."

_(Clearly!)_

"Thank you for saving us, Henry," said Maya. I had to admit, even if his actions were morally questionable and potentially taumatizing, he _did _save our lives. It was hard to hold that against him.

"No problem." He sat down on the bed next to us, his expression turning serious. "But I'm afraid it's too early to relax."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that those men who attacked you were no ordinary street thugs. They were hitmen."

"What?!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "B-But why would anyone want _me _dead?!"

"Apparently, whoever is behind this plot to frame my brother wants to take no chances with ensuring his conviction. And you, Mr. Wright, are a threat to that. When I heard my brother had gotten a lawyer, I feared that your life might be in danger and so I sought you out." He laughed humorlessly. "Good call, don't you think?"

_(No kidding...)_

He went serious again. "Look, I understand if you don't want to take Travis's case anymore. I want to save my brother, but not at the loss of innocent life."

I pinched my temples and looked away. "I don't know...maybe you're right..."

"What are you talking about, Nick?!" I jumped at Maya'a sudden yell. "We can't just give up on Travis! Isn't it your duty to protect your clients?!"

I was stunned. Maya was always the optimistic one in our partnership, but I never thought she would go this far. Especially after how scared she had seemed at the time. "Maya, I do want to defend Travis...but the fact is that we're not equipped to handle hitmen with guns. A dead defense attorney can't make a very good case."

That seemed to take some of the wind out of her argument. "Well, yeah...but..."

"I believe I have a solution then," said Henry. "I can tag along with you two if you want. I'll try to help out with the investigation and I'll protect you from any further assassination attempts. But it's your choice."

He may have said that, but I could see the desperation in his eyes. I was really the only hope he had of saving his brother, and that made my decision right there. I had a duty to defend those who couldn't defend themselves. Even at the risk of my life.

"I'll do it."

"Really?"

"Really, Nick?"

I nodded. "Yes. I won't rest until your brother is free, Henry."

He smiled. "Well, well. I've heard a lot of good things about you, Mr. Wright. I'm glad to see that you've lived up to the hype. Thank you."

I got up off the bed, filled with determination. I had to solve this case now, for both Travis's sake and my own.

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people._

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me._

_Crime Scene Photo_

_Shows the victim lying face down between two shelves, covered in video tapes and a burn mark on her back._

_Diane's Autopsy Report_

_Death caused by impalement from a beam katana. Time of death estimated between 9-10 PM._

_Bloody VHS Case_

_Found lying in a pool of blood in front of the victim. The edges and part of the front cover are stained with blood. The video itself is missing and presumed stolen._

_Desk Calendar_

_A Beef Head-styled calendar that belonged to the victim. It shows Diane's work schedule for the night of the murder as 6:00-9:30 PM._

_Rose Nasty_

_A beam katana that belongs to Travis. It has two blades, one of which was the murder weapon. The other was found in Travis's motel._

_Motel Room Key_

_The key to Travis's room at Motel No More Heroes._

_Stolen VHS Tape_

_Taken from Beef Head Videos on the night of the murder and found in Travis's motel. The label reads "Bizarre Jelly 5: Extra Bukkake Special"._

_Answering Machine Message_

_A message left by the victim at 8:55 on the night of the murder. In it, she yells at Travis about yet another late movie rental and revokes his membership._

_Teddy Bear_

_Found in Travis's motel. I highly doubt he bought it, so why is it here?_

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright _

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and trusted friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_Travis Touchdown_

_Age: 31_

_My client, who also happens to be an assassin. He's not the most likable guy, but I know that he's at least innocent of this crime._

_Sylvia Christel_

_Age: 27_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on Travis's behalf. She's apparently his girlfriend though she doesn't seem to agree with that assessment._

_Dick Gumshoe_

_Age: 33_

_The detective on this case, as per usual. He's apparently the lesser of two evils when compared to the Santa Destroy police._

_Diane Heifer_

_Age: 23_

_The victim in this case. An employee at Beef Head Videos who was killed during her night shift._

_Jeane_

_Age: 5_

_Travis's friendly pet cat. Maya forced me to add her here._

_Henry Cooldown_

_Age: 31_

_Travis's twin brother, believe it or not. He is now acting as my new partner and bodyguard for this case._


	5. The UAA

_This chapter attempts to answer one of the most obvious questions that should come up in this story. Whether or not the answer makes any kind of sense I'll leave up to you to decide._

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: The UAA<p>

**April 13, 2:23 PM**

**Motel No More Heroes – Parking Lot**

Despite my earlier confidence, I was a bit nervous to come back out here again after what happened last time. I was half-expecting more hitmen to pop out of nowhere and gun us down before I even knew what was happening. But no, I had to trust in Henry now. He already proved himself more than capable of protecting us and I couldn't doubt his abilities if I wanted to keep focused on the investigation,

That said, it was a bit disturbing when we found the parking lot exactly as we had left it, the dead bodies of the hitmen and all the blood they spilled having inexplicably vanished. According to Henry, this was normal in Santa Destroy. That made no sense to me, but it was probably for the best with the police so close by. The last thing I needed right now was another murder investigation.

Once the three of us actually started looking around though, we found something unusual almost immediately. In fact, I was surprised that we hadn't noticed it on the way in.

By all accounts, it appeared to be a motorcycle, but not like any I had ever seen. It was absolutely massive for one thing, almost as big as the cars around it, and seemed to be equipped with a ridiculously powerful engine. I could literally see this thing going hundreds of miles per hour.

Henry soon took notice of what I was gawking at and waved a hand dismissively, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "Oh, that's Travis's."

_(Why am I not surprised?)_

"Do you think Travis will let me ride it after we get him off the hook?" Maya asked, a twinkle in her eye.

_(Why am I not surprised by this either?)_

"Does it have a name?"

Henry shrugged. "Yes, but it's not exactly something I take priority with remembering. I think it's called the Shelp...shleep...Sheepeltiger...or something."

I continued to examine the...bike...and found something interesting near the tires. "Looks like there's some skid marks here."

Henry leaned down to look with me. "Indeed. Pretty recent ones too. Do you think Travis may have taken this bike out last night?"

"That's a good possibility."

_(Especially since I know he lied to me about being home all night.)_

__Sheepeltiger? added to the Court Record__

"Let's keep looking." The three of us split up to look around the parking lot. For such a big space, there wasn't much to cover. The next piece of evidence we found was technically not even on the lot at all.

"What's this then?" asked Henry. I saw him reach into the space between the motel and the neighboring building and pull out a small, crumpled up piece of paper. He was definitely proving his worth as an investigative partner, that's for sure. As we walked over to him, I noticed that the paper seemed to be covered in mud. Thankfully, it wasn't muddy enough to obscure the typed message that was written on it. "Travis Touchdown, I hereby challenge you to a duel," Henry read. "Meet me tonight at Destroy Stadium. Then you'll really be the 'no more' hero."

I had no idea what this message could mean, but Henry seemed to understand perfectly. "A letter of challenge. I should have known."

_Letter of Challenge added to the Court Record_

"A what?"

"It's something that I see every now and then. Even though Travis isn't officially in the ranks anymore, there's still some crazy buggers out to challenge him."

"Ranks?"

Henry blinked in surprise. "...You're kidding. You mean you don't know about the UAA?"

"Uh...no...?"

He facepalmed. "Leave it to Travis to skip out on the important details. I guess I'll explain it then. The United Assassins Association is an organization that promotes battles between assassins. Most of these fights are televised for the public to see and place bets on. Travis has been their star attraction for quite some time now."

"So it's like wrestling?" Maya asked.

He laughed. "Yes, and I'm sure Travis appreciated that aspect of it. But he's not a part of the ranks anymore because-"

The sudden blaring of the Steel Samurai theme interrupted him. I awkwardly apologized and took my cell phone out of my pocket. "Hello?"

"Mr. Wright?" a familiar voice answered.

"Slyvia?!" I honestly wasn't sure if I was ever going to hear from her again.

"Yes, it's me. There's something I wish to discuss with you. Come to my office." She hung up.

_(Blunt as always.)_

Henry, who had overheard the "conversation", smiled. "Well, it sounds like you can get it straight from the horse's mouth."

"What do you mean?"

"Slyvia is an agent for the UAA. She'll be able to tell you everything you need to know. That is, if she _wants_ to..." He trailed off, as if distracted by something. "Anyway, I'll take you to her office. We should probably hurry. My ex-wife isn't the patient type."

"Ex-wife?"

"Long story."

* * *

><p><strong>April 13, 2:46 PM<strong>

**Santa Destroy – UAA Headquarters**

"How long is she going to keep us waiting here?" Maya complained. "The nerve of that woman, wasting our time like this!"

For an organization that promoted fights between killers, this place didn't look half bad. If I didn't know any better, I would never even suspect it of being such. The three of us were seated in the lobby of the building, watching the employees as they worked away on their computers. I had to wonder just how much time and effort went into their operations. More importantly, I had to wonder how any of this was legal.

"_Some _of us actually have work to do, you know."

Sure enough, Sylvia happened to be standing right behind us just as Maya started mouthing off. She was a fairly tall woman with blond hair, a white blouse, and black shorts. I could faintly see what looked like a thong sticking out of those shorts and tried to avert my eyes. If Pearls were here, I probably would've been slapped by now.

Maya paled under Sylvia's withering glare. "Er...you have a very nice building, Ms. Christel."

_(Smooth.)_

Sylvia didn't even bother to pay attention to her anymore. "I am ready to see you now Mr. Wright." I got up off my seat along with Maya and Henry. "I'm sorry, I believe I said I would be seeing _Mr. Wright _now, not his two sidekicks."

"But Slyvia," Henry protested. "Mr. Wright needs me to-"

"No excuses! Sit your ass down!"

Henry reluctantly sat back down with Maya. I was a little flattered by how seriously he was taking this bodyguard thing already. "Don't worry, I'll be fine," I reassured them.

_(I hope.)_

"Now then..." Sylvia turned and led me into her office. It was a small, quaint little place, not unlike my own office, but definitely nicer. I took my seat on a couch in front of the desk while another employee brought me a drink. She sure knew how to make someone feel welcome despite the way she just treated my partners. Sylvia seated herself at her desk and gave me a smile that had no hint of happiness to it whatsoever.

I coughed. "So, uh...you said you had something to talk with me about?"

"Yes. If you're going to defend Travis in court, you need to be aware of how the law works in this particular case."

"...Does it work any differently than normal?"

She laughed, as if that should of been obvious. She reached into a drawer and pulled out a laptop that she sat on the desk, facing me. "Take a look at this." She pressed a key and a video started to play on the laptop. It appeared to be Travis inside some kind of hotel suite. He was fighting a dark-skinned man carrying a boombox...and the boombox shot missiles.

_(Just how much crazier is this case going to get?)_

"What exactly am I watching?" is what I asked instead.

"You are watching a UAA ranking match between Travis and another assassin, one Nathan Copeland I believe. Of course, his name is hardly important anymore."

"You mean...he died?"

Sylvia promptly slammed the laptop shut and leaned on top of it coyly. "But of course. A fight between assassins cannot end until someone dies, silly."

I slammed my fists on the coffee table in front of me, as if I were in the courtroom. "That's horrible! And this is all legal?!"

"Entirely. That is what I meant when I said you needed to know how the law worked. The UAA has full control over the law in this city. Anyone killed in the ranking battles is not legally considered a murder." She sighed. "Unfortunately, the woman Travis is accused of killing was an innocent civilian. The UAA cannot protect him."

"What a shame." I couldn't keep the disgust out of my voice. I knew Santa Destroy was a terrible place, but to think that they actually allowed something like this to happen right under their noses.

"If it makes you feel any better, your client seems to agree with you."

That shocked me so much that my anger was temporarily forgotten. "Travis? But I thought he was the star attraction."

"He _was, _but somewhere along the line he decided to grow a conscience. He even spared a few of his opponents. You can't imagine the trouble that caused for us. He's like a prized show horse with a broken leg."

_(That's an interesting way to describe your boyfriend.)_

"So what is the relationship between you and Travis anyway?"

"The two of us have been together for quite some time. He helped me out of a rut recently and we've been seeing each other ever since."

_(And the award for 'Most Vague Answer Ever" goes to...)_

My frustration with this woman was really starting to show. "And what exactly was this 'rut' he helped you out of?"

She actually looked annoyed that I wasn't satisfied with her answer. "The UAA fell on hard times a little while back and I was forced to work out of town at a...less dignified establishment. Travis came to bring me back to Santa Destroy and the UAA was able to get back on its feet soon after. That's all you're getting from me."

I calmed down a little. It seemed like this was just getting too personal for her liking, so I decided to change gears. If she did have a personal relationship with Travis, than maybe she could clear some things up for me. "I heard that there was a murder at Beef Head Videos last year. Was Travis involved by any chance?"

She smirked. "He wasn't the _killer _if that's what you're insinuating. The victim was his best friend after all."

"What?!" I fumbled the cup in my hands, but managed to keep from spilling it. Sylvia glared at me like she would kill me herself if I did. "The victim was Travis's friend?"

"Bishop Shidux was his name. I only know because he wouldn't shut the hell up about him back then. Travis got on the bad side of the local mafia and they killed his friend in retaliation. I remember that day quite well actually. It was April 12th, 2018, one of the only days in history that snow fell on Santa Destroy."

"...It was snowing in April? In California?"

"Yes."

_(Apparently, Santa Destroy's weirdness isn't limited to the populace.)_

"Wait a minute!" I suddenly realized. "April 12th? That's the exact date of _this _murder!"

If she was surprised by this, she didn't show it. "Oh? That's interesting."

I got up out of my seat. "Thank you, Ms. Christel. That was very helpful. I think I have exactly what I need now."

She smiled sweetly, though the gesture was clearly not genuine. "No problem. Good luck, Mr. Wright. Travis may actually have a chance after all." She continued smiling at me as I left the office and rejoined Maya and Henry. Truthfully, my meeting with Sylvia left a bad taste in my mouth. The UAA was one of the most sickening organizations I had ever heard of. But if Travis felt the same way about it and had changed his ways, maybe he wasn't such a bad person after all.

He _was _hiding something from me though, and now I finally had the evidence to find out what.

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people._

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me._

_Crime Scene Photo_

_Shows the victim lying face down between two shelves, covered in video tapes and a burn mark on her back._

_Diane's Autopsy Report_

_Death caused by impalement from a beam katana. Time of death estimated between 9-10 PM._

_Bloody VHS Case_

_Found lying in a pool of blood in front of the victim. The edges and part of the front cover are stained with blood. The video itself is missing and presumed stolen._

_Desk Calendar_

_A Beef Head-styled calendar that belonged to the victim. It shows Diane's work schedule for the night of the murder as 6:00-9:30 PM._

_Rose Nasty_

_A beam katana that belongs to Travis. It has two blades, one of which was the murder weapon. The other was found in Travis's motel._

_Motel Room Key_

_The key to Travis's room at Motel No More Heroes._

_Stolen VHS Tape_

_Taken from Beef Head Videos on the night of the murder and found in Travis's motel. The label reads "Bizarre Jelly 5: Extra Bukkake Special"._

_Answering Machine Message_

_A message left by the victim at 8:55 on the night of the murder. In it, she yells at Travis about yet another late movie rental and revokes his membership._

_Teddy Bear_

_Found in Travis's motel. I highly doubt he bought it, so why is it here?_

_Sheepeltiger?_

_Travis's surreal motorcycle. Skid marks show that it was used recently._

_Letter of Challenge_

_A typed letter challenging Travis to a fight at Destroy Stadium. It's very muddy. _

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright _

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and trusted friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_Travis Touchdown_

_Age: 31_

_My client, who also happens to be an assassin. He's not the most likable guy, but I know that he's at least innocent of this crime._

_Sylvia Christel_

_Age: 27_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on Travis's behalf. She's apparently his girlfriend though she doesn't seem to agree with that assessment. She's also an agent for the United Assassins Association. _

_Dick Gumshoe_

_Age: 33_

_The detective on this case, as per usual. He's apparently the lesser of two evils when compared to the Santa Destroy police._

_Diane Heifer_

_Age: 23_

_The victim in this case. An employee at Beef Head Videos who was killed during her night shift._

_Jeane_

_Age: 5_

_Travis's friendly pet cat. Maya forced me to add him here._

_Henry Cooldown_

_Age: 31_

_Travis's twin brother, believe it or not. He is now acting as my new partner and bodyguard for this case._

_Bishop Shidux_

_Age: 30_

_Travis's former best friend, who was killed exactly one year before the night of the murder._


	6. Breaking the Locks

_In this chapter, I REALLY start to emulate the games. You'll see more of this when we get to the trial._

_And yes, I always picture Phoenix holding the Magatama in front of the person the entire time and them just being too weirded out to comment on it._

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Breaking the Locks<p>

After the meeting with Sylvia, we went back to the motel parking lot to continue investigating. Unfortunately, by the time we made it there, the police had moved their own investigation to that area and Gumshoe wasn't going to let us in this time. "You had your chance, pal!" he said. And we did. I only hoped that we had found everything of importance.

With nothing else to do, we headed back to the detention center to speak with Travis one last time. Whatever he was really doing that night, it was time to find out.

* * *

><p><strong>April 13, 3: 28 PM<strong>

**Santa Destroy – Detention Center**

Travis didn't come out right away. According to the guard, they were having a rather difficult time getting him to cooperate and leave his cell after waking him up from a nap. That left the three of us waiting for him in the lobby.

"So how do you plan on getting this information out of my brother again?" Henry asked.

"I have my methods."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, are you some expert at interrogation or something?"

"Something like that." I decided that trying to explain the Magatama to him would take much longer than simply showing him firsthand. I felt the object glowing in my pocket as Travis finally came into the room and sat down.

"Sorry about the wait." He noticed his brother sitting next to us. "I see you've met Mr. Sir Henry Motherfucker."

"E-Excuse me?"

Henry waved his hand again. "It's alright. It's a term of endearment."

_(How is that endearing?!)_

"Alright, Nick, let's get crackin'," said Maya.

"Actually, there's one thing I wanted to ask about first." I brought up my phone and showed Travis the picture of the teddy bear. "We found this in your motel. Where did you get it from?"

"Oh yeah, the cute teddy bear," Maya laughed. "You secretly collect stuffed animals, don't you Travis?"

"Like hell I do!" he yelled, with all the defensiveness you would expect from a man having his masculinity challenged. "If you have to know, it was a gift from Sylvia alright?"

I was honestly expecting more Psyche-Locks to pop up, but he actually seemed to be telling the truth.

_(Though I can't say Sylvia seems like the stuffed animal type either.)_

_Teddy Bear updated in the Court Record._

"As fun as it is talking about Travis's girly teddy bear, can we get to the point now?" Henry asked impatiently.

"Alright," I nodded, reaching into my pocket for the Magatama. The artifact glowed intensely as I pulled it out and shoved it in Travis's face.

**Take that!**

Instantly, the chains reappeared, along with the pair of Psyche-Locks that covered them.

– _What I did that night –_

"Okay, what the hell is that?" Travis asked. "Is it gonna shoot lasers or something?" He wasn't joking.

"No. I'm going to ask you again: What were you doing on the night of the murder?"

Travis crossed his arms and leaned back. "I already told you. I was at home all night watching anime."

"Sorry, but I know that's a lie. Because I have evidence saying you _did _go somewhere that night." I looked through my pictures until I found what I needed and showed it to him.

**Take that!**

He looked curiously at the photo. "Hey, is that the Schpeltiger?"

"So that's how you pronounce it," Maya noted.

_Schpeltiger updated in the Court Record._

"Maya! Don't update _that_!"

"What? Don't you want to have accurate evidence, Nick?"

I sighed and turned my attention back to Travis. "Anyway, take a close look at the skid marks on the ground. They were made only recently, and since you couldn't have taken it anywhere today, they only could have been left yesterday."

Travis scoffed. "Is that all you've got? So what? I went out earlier that day if you must know. I probably made the marks then."

"Actually, I have proof that you went out at night."

**Take that!**

"Oh, goddammit," Travis put his hand to his forehead and groaned as he saw the letter of challenge I put on the counter. "I knew I should've burned that thing."

"This letter shows that you received a challenge from an assassin that night, and I highly doubt that you would turn down such a challenge. So you went to Destroy Stadium to meet that challenger, didn't you?"

Travis growled and gritted his teeth together. "Fine, you got me. I went to the stadium that night. Happy?"

There was a loud shattering noise as one of the Psyche-Locks broke. But the other one remained intact.

"No, not yet. You're still hiding something from me. Where did you find that letter?"

"What do you mean, where? I found it slipped under the door of my room. Where else?"

"I don't think so. That letter is positively filthy. I doubt it got so muddy from being put under your door, or even when you tossed it onto the grass.

"Geez, you really like sticking like your nose in other peoples' business, don't you? Well I'm not telling you shit!"

_(Hmm...I don't have any concrete evidence of where he found that letter. But now that I know more about Travis and what happened last year, I think I can make a good guess.)_

"Travis, I think I know where you found the letter."

**Take that!**

"...It was the cemetery, wasn't it?"

Travis recoiled a bit. "W-What?! Why the hell would I have been there?!"

"Travis..." I spoke softly. "...I know what happened to your friend Bishop."

"Henry!" Travis glared angrily at his brother. "Why the fuck did you tell him about Bishop?!"

Henry put his hands up. "Woah, now. I didn't tell him that."

"Actually, I learned that from Sylvia," I cut in before things got violent. "I know that last night was the anniversary of his death and it's obvious that you cared a lot about him. So you went to the cemetery to pay your respects to him. That's where you found the letter. In the ground next to his grave!"

Travis looked down and clenched his fists together lightly. I heard him growling softly, which slowly turned into a full-blown roar as he reared back and slammed his fist into the glass pane between us. "DAMMMMNNN IIIIIITTTT!" The crack he left was so large, I was surprised the whole thing didn't shatter.

But what _did _shatter was the remaining Psyche-Lock, and the chains around Travis unraveled.

**Unlock Successful**

"Hmm...not bad, Mr. Wright," Henry complimented.

As soon as I reassured myself that I wasn't about to die, I spoke to Travis again. "What really happened that night?"

Travis had thankfully calmed down and was putting his hand to his forehead as he recalled the memory. When he started talking, he sounded much more subdued than normal. "It's just as you said. I left at about 9:00 last night to go visit Bishop at the cemetery. I didn't want to talk about it before because it was too personal."

_(9:00, right when the time frame for the murder begins. That can't be a coincidence.)_

"When I got there, I stayed at Bishop's grave for some time, just remembering him. I can't say for sure how long I was there...but then..."

"You saw the letter?"

He nodded and anger started to creep into his voice. "Yeah. It was half-buried in the side so I didn't notice it at first. But once I did, I was furious! I couldn't believe that some asshole would mock Bishop's death like that! I wanted to head right to the stadium and rip them apart, but I was unarmed at the time so I rushed home to grab a beam katana first."

"And this beam katana was _not _the Rose Nasty?" I asked, starting to put the pieces together.

"No, it was a different one. It's a blue katana called the Blood Berry."

"I see..."

_Blood Berry added to the Court Record._

"Did you notice anything out of the ordinary when you returned home? Like the missing Rose Nasty blade or the stolen VHS?"

He shook his head. "I was so pissed at the time that I was barely paying attention at all. I just went in and out without thinking."

_(So much for pinning down the time of the murder.)_

"What happened when you got to the stadium?"

"That's the strange part. I went there expecting to fight an assassin, but instead, all these guys in dark suits came out of the woodwork and ambushed me. They didn't stand a chance of course, but they did waste a lot of my time. I didn't get home until after 10. Then the police showed up and you know the rest."

"Hey, those sound like the same guys who attacked us!" said Maya.

"Yeah, I think you're right. So the same person who tried to kill us also tried to kill Travis that night."

"I don't think so," Henry said. "If those men were intended to kill Travis, then this entire frame job would have been pointless. They must have only been meant to distract him...though they probably didn't _know_ that, the poor schmucks."

I nodded in agreement. "Right, the killer must have been aiming to get Travis out of the motel so they could break in. So why was the letter at the cemetery instead of just left at his room? They must have known that Travis was going to be at the cemetery that night, and at that specific time too if the murder was carried out so soon afterward."

"But then that raises the question of why the letter was even needed if Travis was already out." Henry pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in frustration. "Oi. Is this the kind of stuff you have to figure out on a daily basis?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Glad I'm not a lawyer then."

Travis knocked on the glass. "Hey guys? I know you're having a nice conversation there and all, but what the hell are you gonna do now?"

Good question. The only areas we had to investigate were already covered or being blocked off by the police. Except for one. "Let's go check out the stadium."

Maya smiled. "Good idea, Nick!" Henry didn't seem so sure, but said nothing as we left the detention center once again.

Had I known what exactly was waiting for me at Destroy Stadium, I wouldn't have been so eager to go.

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people._

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me._

_Crime Scene Photo_

_Shows the victim lying face down between two shelves, covered in video tapes and a burn mark on her back._

_Diane's Autopsy Report_

_Death caused by impalement from a beam katana. Time of death estimated between 9-10 PM._

_Bloody VHS Case_

_Found lying in a pool of blood in front of the victim. The edges and part of the front cover are stained with blood. The video itself is missing and presumed stolen._

_Desk Calendar_

_A Beef Head-styled calendar that belonged to the victim. It shows Diane's work schedule for the night of the murder as 6:00-9:30 PM._

_Rose Nasty_

_A beam katana that belongs to Travis. It has two blades, one of which was the murder weapon. The other was found in Travis's motel._

_Motel Room Key_

_The key to Travis's room at Motel No More Heroes._

_Stolen VHS Tape_

_Taken from Beef Head Videos on the night of the murder and found in Travis's motel. The label reads "Bizarre Jelly 5: Extra Bukkake Special"._

_Answering Machine Message_

_A message left by the victim at 8:55 on the night of the murder. In it, she yells at Travis about yet another late movie rental and revokes his membership._

_Teddy Bear_

_Found in Travis's motel. Apparently, it was a gift from Sylvia._

_Schpeltiger_

_Travis's surreal motorcycle. Skid marks show that it was used recently._

_Letter of Challenge_

_A typed letter challenging Travis to a fight at Destroy Stadium. It's very muddy._

_Blood Berry_

_A blue beam katana that Travis took with him to Destroy Stadium on the night of the murder._

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright _

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and trusted friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_Travis Touchdown_

_Age: 31_

_My client, who also happens to be an assassin. He's not the most likable guy, but I know that he's at least innocent of this crime._

_Sylvia Christel_

_Age: 27_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on Travis's behalf. She's apparently his girlfriend though she doesn't seem to agree with that assessment. She's also an agent for the United Assassins Association. _

_Dick Gumshoe_

_Age: 33_

_The detective on this case, as per usual. He's apparently the lesser of two evils when compared to the Santa Destroy police._

_Diane Heifer_

_Age: 23_

_The victim in this case. An employee at Beef Head Videos who was killed during her night shift._

_Jeane_

_Age: 5_

_Travis's friendly pet cat. Maya forced me to add him here._

_Henry Cooldown_

_Age: 31_

_Travis's twin brother, believe it or not. He is now acting as my new partner and bodyguard for this case._

_Bishop Shidux_

_Age: 30_

_Travis's former best friend, who was killed exactly one year before the night of the murder._


	7. Clash of Assassins

_So far, I think this story has had a bit too much Ace Attorney and not enough No More Heroes, so here's a fight scene for you._

_Next chapter begins the trial finally._

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Clash of Assassins<p>

**April 13, 4:02 PM**

**Santa Destroy- Destroy Stadium**

"This is a baseball stadium?"

The place we were in now sure looked like a baseball stadium from the outside. The inside...not so much. The ground was covered in hard stone and the seats that surrounded the area above made it look more like a coliseum than anything else. "Sort of," Henry answered. "It looked much more like one before, but the UAA came in and modified it for assassin battles."

_(Figures.)_

Maya looked around the room, seeming utterly confused herself. "Hey Nick, wasn't there was supposed to be a fight here the night of the murder?"

"Yeah, between Travis and the thugs who attacked him. What about it?"

"Well, it's just...there's nothing here."

I had been so distracted by how odd this place looked that I didn't notice this until now. Indeed, the stadium was completely empty. I would've expected dead bodies to be lying all over the place, but there were no signs whatsoever that this battle had ever happened. I knew that Travis wasn't lying about it, so what...?

"I can't say I'm surprised," said Henry, examining the area for himself.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Remember how I told you that bodies tend to just disappear in this city? A lot of times, it's the UAA's doing. Whenever there's a ranking match, they always send a team in to clean up all the evidence. Even if they do hold sway over the courts, they still don't want to deal with the police if they don't have to."

"But this wasn't a ranking match. It was just a challenge from some letter."

He knelt down to the ground and lifted up a handful of dust. "Regardless. If the UAA gets any hint that a fight involving one of their assassins is taking place, they treat it like any other match. If I had to guess, the killer notified them anonymously and they unwittingly erased any evidence that could have been found here. Same with the incident in the parking lot." He turned his hand over and dumped the dust onto the ground. "They're a clever one, that's for sure."

I frowned. "In other words, we've reached a dead end?"

"A very apt metaphor indeed, Mr. Attorney."

My heart froze. That wasn't Henry's voice, and it certainly wasn't Maya's.

As I whirled around, I saw a man standing at the gate we had come in through. He had a mix of black and white hair and wore a monocle in his left eye, but his most striking feature was a series of stitches that extended from his forehead to his chin. He wore a dark black suit, similar to the hitmen we encountered before, but I knew this was no hitman. No, he was _much _worse.

"S-Shelly De Killer!" I gasped, stepping back. Maya immediately hid behind me again while Henry got in front, staring him down.

De Killer didn't look the least bit intimidated by the Irishman, though that was hard to tell since he always had both eyes shut and a calm smile, his expression never changing. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met."

Henry ignored the implied question and looked back at me. "You've met De Killer before?"

"Unfortunately. What do you know about him?"

"Only that he's a legendary assassin who comes from a long line of killers and that he has a fondness for leaving calling cards. Looks like the culprit behind all this isn't screwing around anymore if they've sicked a professional on you." He seemed more excited than nervous about that prospect. It must have been the "warrior blood" in him or something.

De Killer nodded. "That is correct. My client has hired me to ensure that your investigation into Ms. Heifer's murder is halted. However, I hold a certain degree of respect for you, Mr. Attorney. If you agree to drop the case and leave this city at once, I see no reason to take your life."

So that was it. De Killer was leaving me with an ultimatum. I could either leave now and forget all of this ever happened or I could stay and most likely end up with a knife in my chest. It might have seemed like a difficult decision, but I made it quickly. After all, I had essentially made the same decision already back in Travis's motel.

_(This might be the dumbest thing I've ever done, but...)_

"No way!" I said. "I have a duty to defend my clients to the end. I'm not going anywhere!" Henry looked back at me again, either impressed by my bravery or wondering if I had lost my mind. I couldn't tell which.

As for De Killer, he still didn't show any kind of reaction, but the long pause told me that I had surprised him as well. "I see. That is a very noble answer, Mr. Attorney. Unfortunately, it is the wrong one." A knife suddenly slid out of his sleeve into his hand. "Nevertheless, I shall reward your courage with a quick and merciful death."

As soon as he finished talking, De Killer rushed right for me with the kind of speed that should be impossible for a man his age. But Henry was just as quick, igniting his beam katana and blocking De Killer's knife as he tried to stab me with it. For a moment, the two assassins just stood there, deadlocked. Amazingly, De Killer's small knife was successfully holding back a sword of pure energy. Henry smirked. "Forgive me, I never _did_ introduce myself. My name is Henry Cooldown."

De Killer cocked his head to the side in recognition. "Ah, I've heard of you. You're an assassin that still has some class, unlike the rest of the UAA's lapdogs."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that the so-called 'assassins' who reside in this city are little more than arrogant children with flashy gimmicks, sacrificing their dignity for petty fame and glory." His voice turned dark. "Allow me to show you what a _real _assassin can do."

De Killer broke the deadlock and leapt several feet back. Henry gave chase with an impossibly fast dash and soon the two killers were caught up in battle, parrying each others' blades so quickly that Maya and I could barely keep up with their movements. Not that she seemed to mind. "Woah! This is just like that fight between the Steel Samurai and the Nickel Samurai in the 10th Anniversary Crossover Special! You see Nick? Battles this awesome really _do _happen in real life!"

_(Has she forgotten that our lives are in danger here?)_

I didn't want to doubt Henry's abilities, but I knew from experience how deadly Shelly De Killer could be. Even now, he was having no trouble at all keeping Henry and his beam katana at bay with just a four-inch knife. Eventually, he got through, dodging a swing from Henry and stabbing him in the shoulder. It was thankfully not the one he used to wield his katana or this battle would have been over right there.

Henry grunted in pain and back-flipped away as De Killer tried to stab him again, gaining some distance. He then held his katana in front of him and generated orbs of energy like I saw him so before. This time however, the orbs missed their intended target as De Killer swiftly sidestepped them. They instead struck the ground behind him and created a large cloud of dust. "Hmph. This is exactly what I mean. These cheap parlor tricks are no match for me."

"We'll see about that." Henry dashed straight at De Killer again, but as the monocled assassin readied his knife, he abruptly changed direction and headed into the dust cloud. De Killer decided against chasing him in and just watched it calmly, waiting for his opponent to make a move.

Finally, just as the cloud was about to clear, three more energy orbs shot out of it. De Killer once again avoided them with ease, but he wasn't expecting Henry to dash out right after them and was slashed in the side as the Irishman sped past. "That's 1-1. Your move." De Killer gave a small grunt and chased after leapt up onto the edge of the stands followed by De Killer and they resumed their struggle, now having to maintain their balance on the thin stone railing. Neither of their injuries were slowing them down at all and it seemed that this could go on for quite some time.

But that was not the case. In the midst of their battle, another sound emerged over that of clashing blades: the sound of police sirens. Henry was just a bit more distracted than De Killer and was swiftly kicked off the railing before he could regain focus.

De Killer there stood there above us, now looking at me again. "Luck is on your side today, Mr. Attorney. I look forward to seeing how you will perform tomorrow. As for you..." He looked back to Henry, who was just pulling himself off the ground. "...this battle is not over yet. We will finish it another time." With that, he turned around and sprinted up the stairs, throwing himself over the top of the stadium and disappearing from sight.

"Damn! He got away." Henry deactivated his katana and hooked it back on his belt just as the police rushed into the area. They looked ready for action as they came in, then stopped in confusion as they saw nothing but us there.

"Uh...is there a problem, officers?" I asked awkwardly. I was grateful to them for saving us, but I did have to wonder what exactly they were doing here in the first place.

Detective Gumshoe stepped to the front of the group. "We got an anonymous call about a big fight going on over here. Looks like it was a bum tip though."

_(If only you knew, Detective.)_

Maya spoke up. "But Detective, there was-" I quickly put a hand over her mouth to silence her.

Gumshoe cleared his throat and turned back to his men. "Alright boys, let's head back to the precinct. It's gonna be a long drive." A few of the officers groaned, obviously not looking forward to that trip. It occurred to me that we would also have to head back to LA pretty soon. It was already starting to get dark and I needed to prepare for tomorrow's trial.

As soon as the police were gone, Maya forced my hand off of her mouth. "Why didn't you tell them about De Killer, Nick? If he's involved, than there's no way Travis could be the murderer."

"There was no calling card left at the scene, so we really have no proof that De Killer is involved. That's probably why he fled so quickly when he heard the police coming. Until we can prove his connection, bringing him up would only get in the way of finding the truth. "

"But...Nick..." she trailed off, but I knew what she was going to say next: that my life was being threatened. She must have realized that the police would be able to do very little to protect me from De Killer and so she didn't bring it up.

Besides, I already had protection, the Irish assassin who was currently wrapping up his wounded shoulder with bandages. I already knew that he would insist on coming back to LA with us, which I was certainly thankful for.

Henry had done his part. Now it was up to me to continue this battle in court.

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people._

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me._

_Crime Scene Photo_

_Shows the victim lying face down between two shelves, covered in video tapes and a burn mark on her back._

_Diane's Autopsy Report_

_Death caused by impalement from a beam katana. Time of death estimated between 9-10 PM._

_Bloody VHS Case_

_Found lying in a pool of blood in front of the victim. The edges and part of the front cover are stained with blood. The video itself is missing and presumed stolen._

_Desk Calendar_

_A Beef Head-styled calendar that belonged to the victim. It shows Diane's work schedule for the night of the murder as 6:00-9:30 PM._

_Rose Nasty_

_A beam katana that belongs to Travis. It has two blades, one of which was the murder weapon. The other was found in Travis's motel._

_Motel Room Key_

_The key to Travis's room at Motel No More Heroes._

_Stolen VHS Tape_

_Taken from Beef Head Videos on the night of the murder and found in Travis's motel. The label reads "Bizarre Jelly 5: Extra Bukkake Special"._

_Answering Machine Message_

_A message left by the victim at 8:55 on the night of the murder. In it, she yells at Travis about yet another late movie rental and revokes his membership._

_Teddy Bear_

_Found in Travis's motel. Apparently, it was a gift from Sylvia._

_Schpeltiger_

_Travis's surreal motorcycle. Skid marks show that it was used recently._

_Letter of Challenge_

_A typed letter challenging Travis to a fight at Destroy Stadium. It's very muddy._

_Blood Berry_

_A blue beam katana that Travis took with him to Destroy Stadium on the night of the murder._

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright_

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and trusted friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_Travis Touchdown_

_Age: 31_

_My client, who also happens to be an assassin. He's not the most likable guy, but I know that he's at least innocent of this crime._

_Sylvia Christel_

_Age: 27_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on Travis's behalf. She's apparently his girlfriend though she doesn't seem to agree with that assessment. She's also an agent for the United Assassins Association._

_Dick Gumshoe_

_Age: 33_

_The detective on this case, as per usual. He's apparently the lesser of two evils when compared to the Santa Destroy police._

_Diane Heifer_

_Age: 23_

_The victim in this case. An employee at Beef Head Videos who was killed during her night shift._

_Jeane_

_Age: 5_

_Travis's friendly pet cat. Maya forced me to add him here._

_Henry Cooldown_

_Age: 31_

_Travis's twin brother, believe it or not. He is now acting as my new partner and bodyguard for this case._

_Bishop Shidux_

_Age: 30_

_Travis's former best friend, who was killed exactly one year before the night of the murder._

_Shelly De Killer_

_Age: Unknown_

_A professional assassin who I've crossed paths with once before. His client has hired him to stop my investigation by any means necessary. _


	8. The Trial of Travis

_The trial begins! I've been looking forward to this part for a while._

_Probably shouldn't have started another story right before it then._

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: The Trial of Travis<p>

Just as I thought, Henry insisted on coming back to LA with us. He not only wanted to continue his duties as my bodyguard, but he also wanted to help out in the trial in any way possible. He had no legal experience whatsoever, but he was adamant about serving as my co-council anyway. I just hoped that the judge would allow me to have two, since I doubted Maya would give up that position without a fight.

After a pretty restless night's sleep, during which Henry made himself comfortable on my couch, I woke up with only half an idea of how I would make my case. In other words, business as usual. I got the pictures of my evidence printed out on large sheets and stored in a manilla folder. This, and the evidence I had physically taken were stored in a briefcase that I carried with me as I regrouped with Maya and Henry and headed for the courthouse.

Santa Destroy just _barely _fell into our district, so we would be using the same courthouse I was used to. That meant getting not just the police, but the evidence, defendant, and any witnesses all the way from Santa Destroy to here. That must have been a hassle. It was times like this that I felt really bad for the prosecutor's office.

I took a deep breath and opened the doors to the courthouse.

* * *

><p><strong>April 14, 10:00 AM<strong>

**District Court- Defendant Lobby No. 3**

"Are you ready, Nick?"

I jumped and fumbled some of the documents in my hands. I was sitting on the couch, taking the time to review my evidence when Maya broke my concentration. "I'll take that as a no," said Henry.

I managed to get my documents back in order and put them back in the briefcase. "Don't worry, of course I'm ready."

_(Not.)_

"I just needed to take a small refresher, that's all." Henry looked less than convinced.

"Why doesn't it surprise me that _you're _the one taking this case, Wright?"

_(That voice...uh oh.)_

I tensed up as the purple-suited form of Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth walked over to us. "No, really, what are you doing here?"

Maya answered for me. "We're going to prove Mr. Touchdown's innocence, that's what!"

Edgeworth looked at me with a mix of amusement and pity. "Is that really what you intend to do?"

"Um...yes." I was suddenly feeling a bit insecure. Edgeworth tended to have that effect on me.

He sighed. "So you're taking on yet another impossible case. I sometimes get the feeling you do this on purpose."

_(Nope. I really am just that unlucky.)_

"In any case, I'll see you inside, Wright. Good luck. You're going to need it." Edgeworth walked way without another word.

"Hmph. He didn't even acknowledge me," said Henry, crossing his arms.

Maya patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, Henry. Mr. Edgeworth is just like that."

"Mr. Wright. Please enter the courtroom," we heard the bailiff say.

I packed up my suitcase and stood up. While I didn't appreciate Edgeworth's rather condescending tone, he did have a point. Defending an assassin in court? I was going to need some luck alright.

Good thing I had that in spades.

* * *

><p><strong>April 14, 10: 03 AM<strong>

**District Court- Courtroom No. 4**

"Court is now in session for the trial of Travis Touchdown," announced the judge, sitting at his bench.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor," I called out from the defense's bench. Maya stood to the right of me and Henry to the left.

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor," said Edgeworth from the opposite bench.

Now was normally the part where the judge would ask the prosecutor to give his opening statement, but this time he was looking over at my bench, specifically at Henry. "I don't believe I've seen you before. Are you a part of the defense team as well?"

Henry nodded. "I am, Your Honor. I will assist Mr. Wright to the best of my ability."

"I see. But I have to wonder, is the defense even allowed more than one co-council?"

"I'll allow it," said Edgeworth. "The defense needs all the help it can get."

The judge nodded. "Very well then."

_(You didn't have to agree with him!)_

"Now Mr. Edgeworth, please give your opening statement."

Edgeworth cleared his throat and began. "On the night of April 12th, Diane Heifer, an employee of the video store Beef Head, was killed on her shift between the hours of 9 and 10 PM. Found at the scene was the murder weapon, a device known as a 'beam katana' that is known to belong to the defendant. As such, it is no surprise that it was found covered with his fingerprints. In addition, a VHS tape was stolen from the scene of the crime. That tape was later found in the defendant's motel room. Need I say more?"

"No, that seems quite sufficient," the judge said. "So am I to take it that the video tape was the defendant's motive?"

"We believe that to be the case, Your Honor. There is even further evidence to prove it." Edgeworth bent down to pull something out from behind the prosecutor's bench. My heart sunk as I saw what it was.

_(Oh boy.)_

"This is the defendant's answering machine. May I have permission to play the last recorded message to the court?"

"Of course. Go right ahead."

"Thank you."

He pressed a button on the machine and let the recording play again: "Hi, this is Diane from Beef Head Videos. I wanted to let you know that your video membership is now revoked until you return one of our videos. You know the one. Return it already!"

"You see, the defendant has a history of late video rentals and it appears that Ms. Heifer finally became fed up with him. But he was hoping to rent a video that night, so he simply killed her and took it by force."

"Are you suggesting that he killed the victim over something as petty as a movie rental?" The judge sounded skeptical.

"Indeed I am. We both know that a person can kill over the most trivial slights." He tapped a finger to his forward and smirked. "...Especially when that person is an assassin."

"A-A-A-AN ASSSASSIN?!"

The gallery went into an uproar, their voices drowning out everything else in the room. I couldn't make out much of what they were saying, but none of it sounded good.

_(Beautiful. Five minutes in and the entire courtroom is already against us.)_

The judge slammed his gavel. "Order! Order in the court!" The gallery settled down and the judge finally regained his composure as well. "I-I see. Well, now that that's settled, please call your first witness."

Edgeworth already had "easy win" plastered on his face. "Of course. The prosecution calls Detective Dick Gumshoe to the stand."

Detective Gumshoe, looking as unprepared as ever, stepped up to the witness stand. "Will the witness please state his name and profession?" asked Edgeworth, in his typical redundant fashion.

"Dick Gumshoe, Homicide Detective."

"Please testify as to how the defendant committed the crime, Detective."

"Sure thing, pal!"

I braced myself. This is where the battle would really begin.

_Witness Testimony – The Night of the Murder_

_It all went down on the night of April 12th, between 9 and 10 PM._

_The victim was working her night shift at the video store when the defendant came in._

_Concealing his deadly weapon, he asked the victim to fetch him a video from the shelf..._

_...and while her back was turned, he stabbed her with the beam katana!_

"What a load of bullshit!" a voice screamed. It didn't take a genius to figure out who it was.

"Order! The defendant will cease his outbursts or he will be removed from the court!"

_(That might be for the best actually...)_

"My brother just loves to dig himself deeper doesn't he?" Henry asked, pinching his forehead.

As soon as Travis had calmed down, the judge turned back to me. "Mr. Wright, you may now begin your cross-examination."

I was about to do just that when Henry spoke up again. "So hows does this all work, anyway? I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with courtroom proceedings."

"It's pretty simple. I review his testimony and present evidence that contradicts what he's saying."

"A contradiction, huh? Well, I'm no lawyer, but the one here seems kind of obvious."

"Yeah, Detective Gumshoe isn't really the best at putting these things together," Maya giggled. Gumshoe apparently overheard her and his face fell. "But he really tries his best!" she added.

"Before any of that though, I'm going to press him for more information."

Henry nodded in understanding. "Alright, then. Show me how it's done, Mr. Wright."

_Cross-Examination – The Night of the Murder_

_It all went down on the night of April 12th, between 9 and 10 PM._

_The victim was working her night shift at the video store when the defendant came in._

**Hold it!**

"Do you have proof that the victim was in the store at the time?" I asked.

He scratched the back of his head. "Well, no, I suppose not. But she was scheduled to work that night and that's where her body was found, so it's a pretty safe assumption that she was there."

"Weren't there any security cameras at the scene?"

"Two of them, actually. I'm afraid the footage is unusable though."

"You mean it was stolen from the scene?"

"I mean that the cameras were sliced apart with a beam katana."

"Oh..."

Edgeworth choose that moment to cut in. "Of the two cameras at the scene, one was damaged so heavily that the tape inside was unsalvageable. The other camera's tape went missing and is presumed stolen." I opened my mouth to speak. "And before you say anything, no, we didn't find that tape in the defendant's motel."

_(He knows me too well.)_

"Detective, please continue your testimony."

_Concealing his deadly weapon, he asked the victim to fetch him a video from the shelf..._

_...and while her back was turned, he stabbed her with the beam katana!_

**Objection!**

I smiled, a bit smugly, at the detective. "So you're saying that the victim followed his request?"

"Of course she did! Her body was found by the video shelves, so she must have been finding a video for him at the time."

"But isn't that a bit strange? After all, the victim just sent him a message revoking his membership, didn't she?"

Gumshoe's eyes widened. "Hey, you're right!"

The judge's as well. "Indeed!"

My co-council felt the need to chip in too.

"Go, Nick!"

"Well done, Mr. Wright."

"If Travis's video membership had been revoked, the victim wouldn't have agreed to find a tape for him. So the very fact that she was found by the video shelves proves that it couldn't have been Travis who killed her!

**Objection!**

This one came from Edgeworth. "Getting ahead of yourself as always, I see."

"What does that mean? This is a clear contradiction!"

He sighed and shook his head condescendingly. "Is it really? The victim getting a tape for the defendant was only the detective's theory, not mine. There could have been other reasons for the victim to be by the shelf. Perhaps she was already there when he came in. Or maybe she agreed to show him a tape without actually letting him rent it. There are a number of possibilities."

"Hmm...the prosecution has a point," the judge agreed. "I'm afraid that this isn't concrete evidence, Mr. Wright."

Henry frowned. "And...the contradiction is gone. Does that usually happen?"

"Yes. You'll get used to it."

Edgeworth smirked. "On the subject of concrete evidence, need I remind the court that we already have plenty against the defendant? Detective, please testify as to why it could have only been Mr. Touchdown to commit the crime."

"You got it!"

_Witness Testimony – Why it was Travis_

_First of all, the murder weapon has the defendant's fingerprints on it._

_Second of all, there's the defendant's motive, the stolen video tape._

_We found its bloody case at the scene and the tape itself in the defendant's motel._

_And lastly, the defendant lives right next to the scene of the crime. _

_I just don't see how it could be anyone else, pal._

Travis thankfully didn't make an outburst this time, but that really wasn't making me feel better. "That's...uh...that's a lot of things..."

"Impressive," Henry said. "He covered means, motive, and opportunity all at once."

_(Don't compliment him!)_

"There's one thing I don't get," the judge said. "You testified that the defendant lives next to the crime scene?"

Gumshoe nodded. "Yes, Your Honor. We even got a map of the area to prove it." He brought out two copies of a map. The bailiff handed one to the judge and one to me. Knowing Edgeworth, he already had one. The three of us looked down at the map, which had the motel sitting right next to Beef Head, with a restaurant called "Burger Suplex" across the street.

"You're right!" the judge exclaimed. "They _are _right next to each other!"

_Overhead Map added to the Court Record._

"Mr. Wright, you may proceed with the cross-examination."

Henry sighed. "Well, this is certainly looking bad. I sure hope you can find a hole in _this _one, Mr. Wright."

"Me too."

"...Not exactly the answer I was looking for."

_Cross-Examination – Why it was Travis_

_First of all, the murder weapon has the defendant's fingerprints on it._

**Hold it!**

"The beam katana belongs to the defendant. _Of course_ it has his fingerprints on it!"

"Oh, it does belong to him doesn't it? I forgot that part."

"Well...yeah, but-"

"And doesn't he use that thing to kill people too?"

"T-That's true, but-"

I felt Maya tap me on the shoulder. "Um...Nick? You might want to let this one go before you give the prosecution any more ammo."

_(Well, THAT sure wasn't the hole I'm looking for.)_

_Second of all, there's the defendant's motive, the stolen video tape._

_We found its bloody case at the scene and the tape itself in the defendant's motel._

**Hold it!**

"Why was the case left behind? If the defendant wanted the tape, why not simply take the whole thing?

"Good point. I was wondering that myself," the judge said.

_(Liar.)_

It seemed like a good question, yet Edgeworth didn't look the slightest bit concerned. "...Door scanner," he finally said.

"Door...scanner?"

"Yes." He looked down at a document he was holding. "You probably didn't notice, but Beef Head Videos has a tiny scanner right above the door that detects the bar codes on packages and discerns whether or not they have been paid for. For videos, that bar code is located on the back of the case."

_(I don't like where this is going...)_

"Had the defendant attempted to leave with the case, it would have triggered an alarm, which is the last thing a murderer wants to do after killing someone. So you see, there is a perfectly logical reason for him to leave the case behind."

_Door scanner added to the Court Record. _

"Well, ain't that a kick in the pants," Henry chuckled.

"You're not helping!"

_(Still, something about that seems...off.)_

"Detective, please add that part about the door scanner to your testimony."

"Sure pal. No problem."

_The defendant took the video out of the case in order to fool the door scanner and avoid suspicion._

**Objection!**

"...I finally found a hole." I slammed both hands down on the desk. "Detective Gumshoe, you claim that the victim went through all this trouble in order to avoid suspicion, right?"

"Yeah? What of it?"

"Let me remind the court about the _other _piece of evidence left behind at the scene. Namely, the Rose Nasty."

The judge looked confused. "Rose Nasty? Is that some kind of foreign disease?"

"Um...no, Your Honor. It's the name of the beam katana."

_(I can't believe I memorized such a ridiculous name.)_

"Anyway, this beam katana not only contains the defendant's fingerprints, but it is also owned by the defendant _and _is used primarily to kill people." I dramatically pointed a finger at Gumshoe's face. "Are you suggesting that my client was smart enough to fool the door scanner, yet dumb enough to leave something like _that _behind?"

The judge was deep in thought. "Now that you mention it, that does seem a bit odd. It's almost as if..."

"...almost as if someone were trying to frame my client," I finished. "Because that's exactly what happened."

The gallery started talking again, but what I heard this time was confusion and doubt.

_(Yes! The wind has shifted in my favor!)_

**Objection!**

The gallery went silent.

_(Well, it was good while it lasted.)_

"Wright, Wright, Wright. Is this all you've got?" Edgeworth asked mockingly. "A few behavioral oddities? I would hardly call that proof of anything."

**Objection!**

I couldn't leave this point uncontested or it was all over for me. "Both the victim and the defendant were acting strangely that night. That seems like more than just a coincidence to me."

"I have to agree with the defense on this one," the judge said. "It's not hard evidence, but it is certainly strange enough to warrant further investigation."

Considering I just threw his whole case into question, Edgeworth was disturbingly calm. "Fine...if that's how it has to be." He smirked. "I'll just have to call in my next witness then."

"WHAT?!" I yelled. "Y-You have another witness?!"

"I must share the defense's shock. How could there be another witness when the crime took place in that tiny video store?"

"I'll concede that my witness didn't see the actual moment of the murder. However!" He slammed his palm down on his desk. "What she _did _see was the defendant heading for the scene of the crime!"

The three of us looked at each other worriedly as that pronouncement echoed through the courtroom.

"The prosecution calls Ms. Kimmy Howell to the stand!"

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people._

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me._

_Crime Scene Photo_

_Shows the victim lying face down between two shelves, covered in video tapes and a burn mark on her back._

_Diane's Autopsy Report_

_Death caused by impalement from a beam katana. Time of death estimated between 9-10 PM._

_Bloody VHS Case_

_Found lying in a pool of blood in front of the victim. The edges and part of the front cover are stained with blood. The video itself is missing and presumed stolen._

_Desk Calendar_

_A Beef Head-styled calendar that belonged to the victim. It shows Diane's work schedule for the night of the murder as 6:00-9:30 PM._

_Rose Nasty_

_A beam katana that belongs to Travis. It has two blades, one of which was the murder weapon. The other was found in Travis's motel. _

_Motel Room Key_

_The key to Travis's room at Motel No More Heroes._

_Stolen VHS Tape_

_Taken from Beef Head Videos on the night of the murder and found in Travis's motel. The label reads "Bizarre Jelly 5: Extra Bukkake Special"._

_Answering Machine Message_

_A message left by the victim at 8:55 on the night of the murder. In it, she yells at Travis about yet another late movie rental and revokes his membership._

_Teddy Bear_

_Found in Travis's motel. Apparently, it was a gift from Sylvia._

_Schpeltiger_

_Travis's surreal motorcycle. Skid marks show that it was used recently._

_Letter of Challenge_

_A typed letter challenging Travis to a fight at Destroy Stadium. It's very muddy._

_Blood Berry_

_A blue beam katana that Travis took with him to Destroy Stadium on the night of the murder._

_Overhead Map_

_A map that shows Motel No More Heroes and Beef Head Videos around the corner from it. A restaurant named Burger Suplex is across the street from the motel._

_Door scanner_

_A tiny scanner in Beef Head Videos that reads the bar codes on packages and triggers an alarm if they're not paid for. _

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright_

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and trusted friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_Travis Touchdown_

_Age: 31_

_My client, who also happens to be an assassin. He's not the most likable guy, but I know that he's at least innocent of this crime._

_Sylvia Christel_

_Age: 27_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on Travis's behalf. She's apparently his girlfriend though she doesn't seem to agree with that assessment. She's also an agent for the United Assassins Association._

_Dick Gumshoe_

_Age: 33_

_The detective on this case, as per usual. He's apparently the lesser of two evils when compared to the Santa Destroy police._

_Diane Heifer_

_Age: 23_

_The victim in this case. An employee at Beef Head Videos who was killed during her night shift._

_Jeane_

_Age: 5_

_Travis's friendly pet cat. Maya forced me to add him here._

_Henry Cooldown_

_Age: 31_

_Travis's twin brother, believe it or not. He is now acting as my new partner and bodyguard for this case._

_Bishop Shidux_

_Age: 30_

_Travis's former best friend, who was killed exactly one year before the night of the murder._

_Shelly De Killer_

_Age: Unknown_

_A professional assassin who I've crossed paths with once before. His client has hired him to stop my investigation by any means necessary._

_Miles Edgeworth_

_Age: 27_

_My childhood friend and the prosecutor on this case. He's a bit on the snobby side, be he has a good heart._


	9. Another Strange Witness

_As you can see by now, I've taken great liberties to make this story look as much like the game as possible. No time stamps for this one though, since it's all still the same place. _

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Another Strange Witness<p>

I didn't recognize the person who stepped up to the witness stand next. She was a young girl with freckles, blue eyes, and blond hair that was tied into braids and extended all the way down to her hips. She wore what appeared to be a schoolgirl's uniform with a small rabbit doll attached to her skirt. She was also holding a wooden recorder for some reason, though on the list of weird things brought into the courtroom, that ranked pretty low.

"Will the witness state her name and occupation?" Edgeworth asked.

She did a small curtsey. "Kimmy Howell. I'm a student at Destroy University." She smiled sweetly. "And I'm also an assassin."

The judge shook his head. "This innocent young girl is an assassin? Why, I hardly believe that." There was a loud "bzzt" noise and suddenly Kimmy's recorder emitted a beam of energy from each side. "I-I mean, yes! Of course you are!" The disguised beam katana returned to its original form. She kept that smile the entire time.

_(Creepy.)_

"Oh no, not _her_." Henry groaned.

"Do you know this girl, Henry?"

"No, but Travis does. He told me about her once. She was a former adversary in the UAA who challenged Travis for his rank. He won of course, but he spared her life because he didn't feel good about killing someone so young."

I had to admit, my opinion of Travis got higher and higher the more I heard about him. He was still a mass murderer, but at least he had some morals. "That doesn't sound so bad. It seems to me like she would be grateful for something like that."

"Yes, but that's not all. Apparently, she also considered herself Travis's #1 fan and had a rather thinly-veiled crush on him. Even wrote him a letter about how she was going to chop off his head and mount it on her wall to prove that she was his biggest fan."

"...Yikes."

"Exactly. How much do you want to bet that she has an ulterior motive for testifying?"

"That...does tend to happen." I looked at the schoolgirl nervously, wondering what exactly she was going to say.

I didn't have to wait long to find out. "Before I begin, may I read something for the court, Your Honor?"

"Um...sure. Go ahead." Neither the judge, nor anyone else had any idea what she was talking about.

Kimmy reached into a small pouch she carried at her side and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and began to read. "To my dearest, Travis the Great. My sincerest apologies for what I must do today. I have a civic duty to perform in the name of justice and even my burning desire for you cannot vanquish it. Just know that you will be in my heart always, even while you rot in prison. Love, Travis the Great's still #1 fan, Kimmy Howell."

The courtroom was dead silent. No one was really sure how they should react to this. For a moment at least.

"Aww, how romantic!" Maya sighed.

_(I fear the day she starts dating.)_

The judge reached up to wipe a tear from his eye. "That was beautiful. What a noble young woman this witness is."

_(Guess he's already forgotten the assassin part.)_

"As cute as that little interlude was, can we get on with the testimony now?" Edgeworth asked impatiently.

The judge snapped back to his senses. "Of course. Ms. Howell, please tell us what you saw that night."

_Witness Testimony – What I Saw_

_I was having a bite to eat at Burger Suplex that night. _

_Just as I was about to finish up, I saw Travis the Great._

_He rode into the motel parking lot on his bike and went inside his room. _

_About a minute later, he came back out, got on his bike again, and drove off around the corner. _

_He was heading straight for Beef Head Videos._

"And there you have it, "Edgeworth stated. "Going by this testimony, what we can assume happened is this: the defendant came home that night on his bike, heard the voice message, and then headed over to Beef Head to do the deed."

The judge nodded. "Yes, that sounds likely."

As I listened to Kimmy's testimony, I couldn't help but feel that it all sounded very familiar. Thinking back, I realized that I had heard a similar story just yesterday. "I don't think she's lying. At least, not entirely."

"Me neither," Henry agreed. "This sounds just like what Travis told us yesterday. About how he returned home to grab his beam katana, and then rushed off to Destroy Stadium."

I thought that over for a moment and then realized what was off about this testimony. "Wait a second...wasn't the stadium in the opposite direction?"

"Indeed it was. That must be what she's lying about then."

"Mr. Wright, you may begin your cross-examination."

I looked at Kimmy and thought over my plan of attack.

_(I know where Travis was really going that night, but it's too early for me to pull out my trump card just yet. For now, I just have to prove that it WASN'T the video store.)_

_Cross-examination – What I Saw_

_I was having a bite to eat at Burger Suplex that night. _

_Just as I was about to finish up, I saw Travis the Great._

**Hold it!**

"About what time would you say this was?"

Kimmy put a finger to her chin. "Hmmm...I don't remember."

"You...don't remember?"

"What, am I expected to know the time at every waking moment? I don't even own a watch."

"But surely the police talking about the incident would've helped you remember."

"You'd think so, but nope!" She stuck out her tongue. "Oopsie!"

_(So much for THAT line of questioning.)_

_He rode into the motel parking lot on his bike and went inside his room. _

_About a minute later, he came back out, got on his bike again, and drove off around the corner. _

**Hold it!**

"So you didn't actually see him enter the store?"

**Objection!**

"Didn't I say already that my witness didn't see the moment of the murder?"

"The moment of the murder is one thing, but she didn't even see him enter the crime scene? How do you know he didn't just drive past it?"

"How do _you _know he did? The burden of proof is on you, remember?"

_(I really hate our legal system sometimes.)_

"Ms. Howell, you may not have seen the bike, but didn't you hear it?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Well, it looks like that bike would have a pretty loud engine. Wouldn't you have heard it stop in front of the video store?"

"Oh yeah, that makes sense. Travis the Great's Schpeltiger is super loud and awesome!"

"So you did hear it?"

"...I don't remember. I wasn't really paying attention after Travis the Great left."

At this point, I wanted to slam my head into the desk. "Not very informative, is she?" Maya sighed.

"She knows the courtroom all right. She's trying to win just by being as vague as possible."

"Clever girl. Now what are you going to do about it?" Henry asked.

I cracked open my briefcase and skimmed the Court Record. There had to be something in here that could contradict this. I looked over what was relevant here, which was the bike itself and...ah, that was it!

_He was heading straight for Beef Head Videos._

**Objection!**

I slammed my hands down once again. "Ms. Howell, lying doesn't suit you."

She flinched. "W-What are you talking about?"

"Let me draw the court's attention to the overhead map we were given just a little while back," I said, looking down at said map for reference. "Your Honor, about how long do you think it would take you to walk from the motel to the video store?"

"Hmm...well at my age, it could take quite some time."

_(How old IS he anyway?)_

"...What about the younger generation then?"

"Oh, in that case, I don't think it would take very long at all. I mean, those buildings are right next to each other."

"That's right. I wager it would take maybe two minutes. At most!"

"What are you getting at, Wright?" Edgeworth asked, clearly sick of the conversation already.

"The witness claims that she saw Travis driving his bike to the video store. I'm sure you can understand how strange that is." I pointed across the room at him. "Why would he ever need a bike to go twenty feet away?!"

"Perhaps the defendant was just lazy," Edgeworth argued.

"While committing a murder? Why would he bring that noisy bike with him when he would make a much quieter getaway on foot?"

For the first time, he seemed at a loss. "Well...maybe...hmm..."

"Now hold on just a minute!" Kimmy interrupted. "I never said that the way he was going was the _only _thing suspicious!"

_(Oh boy, what's she up to now?)_

Edgeworth smirked, quickly getting his second wind. "It wasn't indeed. Didn't you also tell us that the defendant was seething with rage when you saw him?"

"Why yes, yes I did. He was absolutely _boiling _with anger that night!"

"Would you care to testify about that?"

Kimmy grinned widely. "Talk about Travis the Great? I could do that all day!"

"...A few minutes will suffice."

Kimmy cleared her throat, as if getting ready for a recital, and began.

_Witness Testimony – Travis the Great_

_Travis the Great emerged from his room, engulfed in a blaze of fury._

_He stomped down the stairs of the motel, his footsteps as mighty as thunder._

_His beam katana's light glowed bright in the darkness of night._

_The Earth itself shook with the power of his rage as his steed roared to life._

_Then they took off together, on the path to their destiny._

There was another long pause.

_(...What the heck was that?) _

"Oh my, that might perhaps be the most eloquent testimony I have ever heard," the judge said, looking impressed.

"Thank you, Your Honor. I'm minoring in poetry."

"But what could all of that mean? The defendant was angry?"

"Isn't it obvious, Your Honor?" Edgeworth asked. "That was the look of someone who had just heard a particularly inflammatory voice message."

"Oh! I see!"

"I ask the defense, where else could the defendant have been heading, harboring such intense anger, other than to the scene of the crime?"

The gallery went wild again, now back to wanting Travis to burn. "Order! I will have order!" the judge yelled.

_(I KNOW where he went! Just give me the chance to PROVE it!)_

Henry could apparently read my mind. "Frustrating, isn't it? You have the evidence you need, yet as long as that girl's testimony stands, it's not going to matter."

"Then it looks like I'm going to have to completely discredit her before we can get anywhere."

"Mr. Wright, you may begin your Cross-examination, though I doubt you will be able to pull off as much finesse as this witness."

_(It's not a poetry contest, Your Honor.)_

_Cross-examination – Travis the Great_

_Travis the Great emerged from his room, engulfed in a blaze of fury._

**Hold it!**

"What exactly did he look like?"

Kimmy looked away, as if in a daze. "His teeth were clenched, his eyes were glaring daggers, his chest rippled like the sexy beast he is, hot sweat glistening down his neck-"

"Okay, I get the picture!"

_(I'm sorry I asked.)_

_He stomped down the stairs of the motel, his footsteps as mighty as thunder._

_His beam katana's light glowed bright in the cool spring night._

**Hold it!**

"So his beam katana was already drawn?"

"Yes! He looked like such a stud, going off on his quest of vengeance like that!"

_(Hmm...anything else I should ask about?)_

I thought over my options here. I could ask about when exactly he drew the katana, or if he still had it out when he got on the bike, but I ultimately decided on a simpler question: "What was his beam katana like?"

Kimmy looked like she was about to swoon again. "Oh, it was _fantastic! _I've seen all of Travis the Great's katanas of course, but that moment was particularly stunning! The way it's blue glow cut through the darkness...it made me hot."

_(TMI!)_

Disturbed as I was, I noticed something suspicious there. Very suspicious.

"Mr. Wright, would you like to have this added to the testimony?" asked the judge.

"Yes, Your Honor...minus that last part."

"Very well. Ms. Howell, please amend your testimony."

_It glowed a noble blue, cutting through the oppressive darkness._

**Objection!**

_(Let's see her get out of this one.)_

"Ms. Howell, you did just say that you could recognize all of Travis's beam katanas, didn't you?"

"But of course. What kind of #1 fan would I be if I couldn't?"

"Then could you please tell me the name of the katana Travis used that night?"

Kimmy smiled in smug satisfaction. "That's an easy one! It's the Blood Berry, Travis the Great's first ever beam katana! You would never pass the 'How Well Do You Know Travis the Great' quiz on my blog if you're stumped by something like that."

I saw Edgeworth pale and knew that he was quickly making the same connection that I had. But Kimmy remained oblivious as I closed the trap. "Oh? But wasn't the murder weapon the Rose Nasty, the _red _katana?"

Kimmy's eyes widened and she started to lose her cool. She clutched the recorder in her hand tighty. "W-What?! T-That can't be right! It was the Blood Berry! I know it was!"

"Sorry, but you're wrong. The murder weapon was the Rose Nasty. You can ask Mr. Edgeworth if you don't believe me." For some reason, I always imagined really epic music playing at moments like this.

"N-N-NOOOOOOOOOO!" Kimmy squeezed the recorder just a little too hard and the beam activated, just barely missing her head as it shaved off a few blond hairs.

Edgeworth wasn't faring much better. "NGAAAAAAH!" he cried, reeling back. "I...don't understand! The witness must be mistaken!"

No way was I letting this go that easily. "Mistaking red and blue, two of the most distinctly different colors out there? I don't think so!"

"Then what do _you_ think, Wright?! Do you have a better explanation?!"

"Actually, I do."

"WHAT?!"

_(Finally. It's time to whip out my trump card!)_

"Mr. Wright, please don't leave us in suspense," the judge insisted. "What evidence do you have that explains this contradiction?" I popped open my briefcase and rifled through it. It didn't take me long to find what I needed.

**Take that!**

I held up the letter of challenge. "Your Honor, please take a look at this." I passed the letter to the bailiff, who brought it to the judge.

"Hmm...what _is _this exactly?"

"That is a letter of challenge, delivered to Travis Touchdown the night of the murder." I was careful not to delve into what exactly this "challenge" stipulated. "As you can see, it told him to go to the local baseball stadium that night. And that's exactly where the witness saw him going with the Blood Berry."

"So you're saying that the witness was _not_ mistaken when she said she saw him with that blue katana?"

"That's correct, Your Honor. In fact, almost everything in her testimony was accurate. She _did _see Travis drive home, she _did _see him head back out again with a beam katana, and she _did _see him angry. The only difference is that she actually saw Travis driving in the opposite direction, to the stadium, not the video store."

"B-But what about the defendant's anger?" Edgeworth asked, clearly fumbling for a leg to stand on. "He wouldn't get that angry just from being challenged!"

"That too, can be explained."

"Are you going to bring _that _up, Mr. Wright?" Henry asked.

"I have to. It's the only way to save Travis."

He smiled. "I understand. Hopefully, he will too. And if not, I'll try to keep him from killing you."

I decided to worry about that later and continued. "You see, Travis found that letter while visiting his deceased friend at the local cemetery. It was a personal tragedy to him and he found that letter right next to his grave. Is it any wonder why he was so upset?"

The gallery sounded more favorable than ever, not only siding with Travis, but even sympathizing with him over Bishop's death. "Woohoo!" Maya cheered. "That oughta show them! Let's see Mr. Edgeworth get out of this one!"

**Objection!**

_(She should really know better by now than to tempt fate.)_

Maya laughed nervously, realizing her mistake. "Heh heh...whoops."

Edgeworth looked as if he had indeed figured a way out of this, and if that smile was anything to go by, it was going to be _bad_. "Your Honor, may I please take a look at that letter?"

"Certainly." The judge passed the letter to the bailiff, who passed it to Edgeworth.

He looked it over, his smile growing wider. "Just as I thought. This letter is typed."

"Y-Yeah? What's your point?" I asked. There was a growing dread in my gut, the kind that told me my case was about to turn catastrophic.

"Well, if the letter is typed, than there is no way to perform a handwriting analysis on it. Nor is it possible to determine when it was written. So I ask you..." His smile grew into a full-blown grin. "...how exactly do you know that any of this is true? For all we know, the defendant could have fabricated the letter himself after the murder. It could make a rather convenient alibi after all. Besides, I seem to recall the police going to the baseball stadium you mentioned. There wasn't a single piece of evidence suggesting that this 'challenge' ever happened."

_(I hate the UAA SO much right now.)_

"I'm afraid the prosecution is right," the judge said. "This letter alone is not enough to confirm the defendant's story. Do you have any other evidence that could do this, Mr. Wright?"

I didn't need to open my briefcase again to know that I didn't. I wanted to slap myself for never thinking of this possibility. I had been so fixated on presenting my trump card, I didn't even consider that it might not be a trump card after all.

_Now _what was I supposed to do?!

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people._

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me._

_Crime Scene Photo_

_Shows the victim lying face down between two shelves, covered in video tapes and a burn mark on her back._

_Diane's Autopsy Report_

_Death caused by impalement from a beam katana. Time of death estimated between 9-10 PM._

_Bloody VHS Case_

_Found lying in a pool of blood in front of the victim. The edges and part of the front cover are stained with blood. The video itself is missing and presumed stolen._

_Desk Calendar_

_A Beef Head-styled calendar that belonged to the victim. It shows Diane's work schedule for the night of the murder as 6:00-9:30 PM._

_Rose Nasty_

_A beam katana that belongs to Travis. It has two blades, one of which was the murder weapon. The other was found in Travis's motel. _

_Motel Room Key_

_The key to Travis's room at Motel No More Heroes._

_Stolen VHS Tape_

_Taken from Beef Head Videos on the night of the murder and found in Travis's motel. The label reads "Bizarre Jelly 5: Extra Bukkake Special"._

_Answering Machine Message_

_A message left by the victim at 8:55 on the night of the murder. In it, she yells at Travis about yet another late movie rental and revokes his membership._

_Teddy Bear_

_Found in Travis's motel. Apparently, it was a gift from Sylvia._

_Schpeltiger_

_Travis's surreal motorcycle. Skid marks show that it was used recently._

_Letter of Challenge_

_A typed letter challenging Travis to a fight at Destroy Stadium. It's very muddy._

_Blood Berry_

_A blue beam katana that Travis took with him to Destroy Stadium on the night of the murder._

_Overhead Map_

_A map that shows Motel No More Heroes and Beef Head Videos around the corner from it. A restaurant named Burger Suplex is across the street from the motel._

_Door scanner_

_A tiny scanner in Beef Head Videos that reads the bar codes on packages and triggers an alarm if they're not paid for. _

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright_

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and trusted friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_Travis Touchdown_

_Age: 31_

_My client, who also happens to be an assassin. He's not the most likable guy, but I know that he's at least innocent of this crime._

_Sylvia Christel_

_Age: 27_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on Travis's behalf. She's apparently his girlfriend though she doesn't seem to agree with that assessment. She's also an agent for the United Assassins Association._

_Dick Gumshoe_

_Age: 33_

_The detective on this case, as per usual. He's apparently the lesser of two evils when compared to the Santa Destroy police._

_Diane Heifer_

_Age: 23_

_The victim in this case. An employee at Beef Head Videos who was killed during her night shift._

_Jeane_

_Age: 5_

_Travis's friendly pet cat. Maya forced me to add him here._

_Henry Cooldown_

_Age: 31_

_Travis's twin brother, believe it or not. He is now acting as my new partner and bodyguard for this case._

_Bishop Shidux_

_Age: 30_

_Travis's former best friend, who was killed exactly one year before the night of the murder._

_Shelly De Killer_

_Age: Unknown_

_A professional assassin who I've crossed paths with once before. His client has hired him to stop my investigation by any means necessary._

_Miles Edgeworth_

_Age: 27_

_My childhood friend and the prosecutor on this case. He's a bit on the snobby side, be he has a good heart._

_Kimmy Howell_

_Age: 19_

_A student at Destroy University and a former opponent of Travis that also seems to have a crush on him. A bit on the crazy side. _


	10. In Plain Sight

_So ends the trial...for now._

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: In Plain Sight<p>

I was screwed. That was really the best way to put it. I still had no decisive evidence to prove Travis's innocence and I had nothing but conjecture against the mountain of evidence that pointed to his guilt. This was far from the first time this had happened to me, but that didn't make it any easier to handle.

Edgeworth looked at me with an expression of pity. "I'm sorry, Wright. I respect your philosophy, but this is what happens when you put your trust in an assassin."

"Yes, I'm afraid so," the judge agreed. "If you have nothing further, then it is time for me to hand down my verdict."

I wanted to respond, but no words could leave my mouth.

**Objection!**

That wasn't me.

Henry raised his hand. "My apologies, Your Honor. I just had to try that once."

_(I can't believe he's still in good spirits at a time like this.)_

The judge nodded. "Understandable. I too, have had the urge to shout a good 'Objection' every now and then. Anyway, if that's really it this time, then-"

**Objection!**

That...wasn't me either. "The trial can't end just yet, Your Honor."

_(Wait...I know that voice.)_

"M-Mia?!

I turned to my right, where the young girl known as Maya Fey was now a much older woman known as Mia Fey. "Looks like I've made It just in time, Nick. As per usual."

"Oh, it's you again." the judge said. "You do enjoy popping in like this, don't you?" Clearly, he was more than used to this by now, as was Edgeworth. Even the gallery didn't seem particularly shocked.

"What...the...hell...?" Henry spoke. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he stared at Mia in complete bafflement.

_(Oh yeah, spirit channeling isn't supposed to be a normal thing.)_

"Um...long story." Henry just nodded a little, having no doubt about that.

I turned back to Mia. "What is it, Mia? What did you see that can help me turn this case around?

She frowned. "Well, I wouldn't go _that _far. I don't have much more of an idea than you do."

_(That's less than inspiring.)_

"But there is one thing I noticed," she continued. "One piece of evidence that is crucial to this case, yet hasn't been fully examined yet." She looked up at the judge's bench. "The trial cannot end until every piece of evidence had been fully examined, isn't that right, Your Honor?"

"Why yes, of course it is. But what _is_ this piece of evidence you're talking about?"

She smiled at me. "Well, Nick?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You are the defense attorney on this case, after all. And I don't think the deceased can legally present evidence anyway. "

_(Damn dead person loopholes.)_

I opened my briefcase again, fishing through it yet again. This time, I focused not on finding evidence to acquit Travis, but evidence that had not been fully examined. There was only one thing that came to mind, though I had no idea how it could possibly help us.

"Well, Mr. Wright?" the judge asked. "What is this piece of evidence that hasn't been fully examined."

**Take that!**

He looked down at the photo I was holding. "...The video tape?"

_(Alright, time to put my famous bluffing into action.)_

"Yes, Your Honor. Even though this tape is allegedly the defendant's motive, the actual contents of the tape have yet to be examined."

Mia smiled at me reassuringly while Edgeworth sighed in exasperation. "Wright, I know you do this a lot, and I should really not be surprised anymore, but this is ridiculous even for you. The tape was from the video store and it even has a label! It's just a cheap video store rental and nothing more!"

"Maybe, and maybe not. That tape could very well be the turning point to this entire case!"

He looked far from convinced, but the judge was a different story. "Really? Well, in that case, I agree that the contents should be examined."

Edgeworth muttered something like "useless waste of time" while the bailiff rolled a television into the courtroom and put in the video tape. I watched the screen in anticipation as I hoped for something that would help me out.

That's not what I got.

What I got was some kind of anime tape, featuring Japanese schoolgirls running in a field while strange music played in the background. "Umm...what _is _this?" the judge asked, speaking for all of us.

Edgeworth looked down at his documents. "According to the label, it's the 'Bizarre Jelly 5: Extra Bukkake Special'".

"I see. And what exactly is a 'boo-ka-kake'?"

"...I'm not really sure."

It was a rare treat to see Edgeworth so baffled, not that I could really appreciate it at the moment. Especially when the tape got decidedly less family-friendly. The schoolgirls looked like they were going through the kind of transformation sequence I would normally see on the Steel Samurai, except that I couldn't recall the Steel Samurai ever being so...exposed.

"Oh, my!" the judge gasped, his bearded mouth open in shock.

I was getting pretty uncomfortable myself. "Uh...maybe we shouldn't have played this..."

"This was _your _idea!" Edgeworth reminded me, slamming his hand on the desk. The gallery was in on the discomfort as well, voicing their displeasure towards both me and the guy they believed went through all the trouble to steal this.

_(Just when I thought my case couldn't sink any further...)_

And yet, it seemed that the universe decided I hadn't suffered enough, and so it got even worse. As soon as the transformations were complete, the schoolgirls were fully dressed again and went off to fight evil. That didn't sound so bad, up until they ended up fighting some kind of giant tentacle monster, then one thing led to another and...

Well, at this point, we all had a pretty good idea of what "Bukkake" meant.

"Mia! Help!" I turned to my former mentor in desperate need of aid, only to see Maya again.

"Sorry, Nick. Sis said she's out."

_(Can't say I blame her.)_

"Henry?"

The Irishman was out of his state of shock by now, which was odd considering the situation. His attention was focused partially on the courtroom and partially on the tape, as if unable to decide whether or not he should be watching it. "Hmm? Did you say something?"

"NGAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Edgeworth screamed, covering his eyes as if they would melt. "Your Honor, I request that the court hit the fast-forward button!"

"Request granted!" I had never seen the judge slam his gavel so quickly in my life. The bailiff came over and sped up the tape. The traumatizing images didn't get much better, but now they at least went by faster and there was no audio. I was probably the only one still watching at this point, hoping beyond all logic that this could still help somehow.

Ultimately, I was glad I did. "Wait! Pause it there!" The bailiff was so caught off-guard by the request that he fumbled with the remote a little before hitting the pause button. It didn't really matter though, because I was still seeing the same thing as before: the inside of Beef Head Videos. The sudden change of scenery was immensely jarring and I couldn't even figure out what this was for a few seconds. It almost looked like...

_(Wait. It can't be...)_

The judge beat me to it. "...Is that the missing security footage?"

"What?!" Edgeworth finally unshielded his eyes and stared, gaping at the screen. "This is ludicrous! What on Earth is it doing _here_?!"

I had no idea, but I wasn't about to let this chance pass me by. I looked intently at the paused security footage, quickly noticing an inconsistency. "Your Honor, I would like to point out the time stamp that this footage shows: 9:07 PM. Does that time sound familiar to you?"

"It does indeed. That falls right inside the time frame of the murder!"

"Yes, meaning that this is undoubtedly the footage stolen that night!"

Edgeworth scoffed. "So what? There's nothing there." He gasped, reeling back in shock. "There's nothing there?!"

"It appears that I am once again being left out of the loop," the judge sighed. "Exactly what is significant about this footage, Mr. Wright?"

"It's simple, Your Honor. There is one thing that should be in this footage, but isn't."

**Take that!**

"The victim."

Indeed, the tape showed the inside of Beef Head Videos...and nothing more.

Maya gasped. "Hey, that's right! Wasn't the victim supposed to be working at the time of the murder?"

"It's just a coincidence!" Edgeworth insisted. "She may simply be in the bathroom for all we know!"

I stared him down in open challenge. "Well then, let's watch all of the footage and find out."

"Agreed," the judge said. "Bailiff, play this footage from the beginning."

As we found out in the following minutes, the footage began at precisely 9:00 PM and continued through 9:07 and beyond. We soon needed the bailiff to fast-forward the tape again just so we wouldn't be here all morning. The footage went all the way to 9:30 without a single sign of the victim or anyone else. "What in the hell is going on?" Henry asked, rubbing his temples. The footage continued until 9:42, when it suddenly blacked out, ending the tape.

"Hold on. Play that last part again." The bailiff rewound to the end of the tape. The last thing shown was the familiar image of the Rose Nasty flying at the camera. "It appears that this is when the camera was destroyed. Naturally, the footage was cut off afterwards."

The judge appeared deep in thought. "Hmm. What does all of this mean, Mr. Wright?"

"First of all, it looks like someone stole the security footage from the crime scene and taped it over the end of this video."

_(Stolen VHS Tape Updated in the Court Record.)_

"But...why?"

"That's not important, Your Honor."

_(Mainly because I have no freaking clue.)_

"What's important is what this footage shows, or rather, what it _doesn't _show. We had believed the victim to be present for the entire time before the murder, but this is clearly not the case. We now know that the victim was absent for a large portion of her shift, and who knows how long she was really gone or when she left in the first place. I believe these circumstances require further investigation."

"Yes, that certainly seems to be the case. What do _you_ think, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"..." Edgeworth was glaring intently at the blank television screen.

"It seems that the prosecution agrees. Very well then. This trial shall be postponed until tomorrow. Who put this footage on the tape? Where was the victim for all this time before the murder? And what happened to her afterwards? I expect the defense and the prosecution to answer these questions for me by tomorrow."

"...Yes...Your Honor..." Edgeworth finally managed to get out.

"Excellent, Mr. Wright," Henry congratulated me. "You've won, for now at least."

_(Your sense of optimism could still use some work, buddy.)_

The judge raised his gavel. "The court is now-"

**Hold it!**

Kimmy Howell was back at the witness stand, looking absolutely furious.

_(Crap! I forgot all about her!)_

Kimmy's recorder beam katana was activated and she swung it through the air as she talked, as if fighting some invisible adversary. "This isn't over yet! Your Honor, let me testify one more time!"

The judge seemed unsure. "But Ms. Howell, the trial is already-"

"NOW!"

He banged his gavel. "The court will now hear one last testimony from Ms. Kimmy Howell."

_(Still as spineless as ever...)_

_Witness Testimony - Travis the Guilty_

_That tape changes nothing, I tell you! Nothing!_

_So what if the victim was gone for a little while?_

_The time of death was between 9-10, right?_

_So Travis could have easily killed her in that remaining time!_

_And that's exactly what the tape shows!_

_Travis destroying the cameras right before the kill!_

"She's not even bothering with the 'Travis the Great' thing anymore, huh?" Maya asked, looking as tired of this witness as I was.

"She's completely lost it," Henry said. "But she does have a point, I'm afraid. If you can't disprove this testimony, everything you just uncovered will be for nothing." He put a hand on my shoulder. "No pressure."

"Mr Wright, please begin your cross-examination." I braced myself and glared at Kimmy. I wasn't going to be pressing her this time. I saw the contradiction and I was going straight for the throat.

_(Alright Kimmy, it's time to put the final nail in your coffin.)_

_Cross-examination - Travis the Guilty_

_That tape changes nothing, I tell you! Nothing!_

_So what if the victim was gone for a little while?_

_The time of death was between 9-10, right?_

_So Travis could have easily killed her in that remaining time!_

**Objection!**

"Are you kidding me?!" Kimmy screamed. "Again?!"

I refused to be intimidated. "Yes, again. You see, we found something interesting while we were investigating the scene of the crime." I pulled a photo out of my briefcase and passed it to the bailiff.

"My, what an adorable little desk calender," the judge said, looking down at the photo.

"It isn't just cute, Your Honor, it's vital evidence. As you can see, the victim's work schedule is listed there on the night of the murder. Could you please tell the court what that schedule was?"

The judge looked closely at the pictured calendar. "Let's see here. It looks like her schedule that night was...6:00-9:30 PM...Ah!"

"I see you understand. Her shift was already over by the time the incident with the cameras occurred."

Kimmy was not taking this well. "No...no way..grrk..."

"Tell me, Ms. Howell, if the victim wasn't even at work during her shift, then why would she come back after it was already over?"

She had no answer. Not a coherent one at least. "Grrrr...AAAAIIIGGHHH!" Her beam katana went haywire again and took off a few more hairs.

_(She really needs to be more careful with that thing. I should know.) _

"Hold on, Wright," Edgeworth said. "Do you know what you're implying? There is a one hour period where the murder could have taken place. If the victim didn't come to the store for the first forty-two minutes of that period, and she didn't come afterward..."

I nodded. "That's right. There's a good possibility that the scene of the crime wasn't the video store at all."

"But...but that's crazy...isn't it?" There was a hint of doubt in his voice. For the first time, I got the impression he wasn't entirely certain of Travis's guilt anymore.

"No!" Kimmy yelled again. "I won't accept it! Travis must be guilty! HE MUST BE!"

"You know, I think I'm beginning to understand what's going on with you, Kimmy." I looked at her a bit sadly. "You're jealous, aren't you?"

She was taken aback and struggled to keep up her front. "J-Jealous? Jealous of who?!"

**Take that!**

"...Ms. Sylvia Cristel, of course. Travis's girlfriend." She flinched and bit her lip. "It must have been hard for you, being Travis's #1 fan, to see him with another woman. So when you heard about this incident, you decided to come here and turn what you saw that night into a way to get your revenge. Travis would go to prison and Slyvia would lose him forever. If you couldn't have him, then no one could, right?" I pointed a finger directly at her. "This whole thing has been about nothing more than petty jealously! Admit it!"

Kimmy had put her katana away and was now clutching the letter she had read before in her hands. Actually...looking closer, it was not the same letter, but a different one. If I had to guess, it was the one she had originally written to Travis when they first met. "Travis...the...Great..." she breathed softly, starting a tear up a little. For a second, I felt kinda bad for her.

Then she started ripping the letter to shreds while screaming at the top of her lungs. "TRAVISTHEGREATTRAVISTHEGREATTRAVISTHEGREATTRAVISTHEGREATTRAVISTHEGREATTRAVISTHEGREATTRAVISTHEGREAT!" Once the letter was no more, she just stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, then fell backwards and passed out.

As the bailiff awkwardly dragged the unconscious schoolgirl out of the courtroom, the judge cleared his throat. "Well, I guess that takes care of that. As I was saying, this court is now adjourned."

He slammed his gavel.

* * *

><p><strong>April 14, 12:23 PM<strong>

**District Court- Defendant Lobby No. 3**

"How the heck did I do that?" I asked, more to myself than anyone else. I had just defended a known murderer in court and, while I hadn't gotten him off the hook yet, I managed to at least buy some more time.

"I must say, being a lawyer is much more exciting than I expected," Henry smiled. "But you really are good at this, I'll give you that."

"Yeah, that was some pretty sick lawyering out there," another voice said.

"Travis!" Maya exclaimed. My otaku defendant walked over to us, a satisfied grin on his face. "Now, aren't you glad that you decided to hire Nick?"

The grin dampened a little. "Yeah, yeah, don't rub it in."

I got a feeling that something else was bothering him. "What's wrong?"

He didn't seem surprised that I had figured him out. I imagine the whole Psyche-Lock experience must have taught him better. "It's Kimmy. I knew she was crazy when I first met her, but _that_...". He waved his hands around aimlessly. "...that was just plain fucked up."

"I know. But that's just the way it goes sometimes. The pursuit of the truth can take many casualties."

He laughed. "I didn't think you could be so deep."

"Me neither," Maya said cheekily.

I looked away, trying to hide my embarrassment. "Anyway...what's our next move?"

Henry sighed in frustration. "To be honest, I can't think of anything more to investigate that we didn't cover yesterday."

"I have an idea," Travis said. "How about the cemetery?"

"The cemetery?" I asked. "The one where you visited your friend?"

"Yeah. I don't remember anything suspicious, but if the killer knew I would be there, they might have shit the bed somewhere in covering their tracks."

_(I'm never going to get used to his potty mouth.)_

"That's a good idea," I said. "If only because it's the only one we have, but still."

He shrugged. "Hey, you're the one who's supposed to figure this stuff out. I'm just a guy who kills other guys."

With that, Travis waved to us and left to go back to the detention center, leaving behind a possible lead. I didn't know how well it would pan out, but I promised myself that if there was anything at that cemetery of importance, I was going to find it.

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people._

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me._

_Crime Scene Photo_

_Shows the victim lying face down between two shelves, covered in video tapes and a burn mark on her back._

_Diane's Autopsy Report_

_Death caused by impalement from a beam katana. Time of death estimated between 9-10 PM._

_Bloody VHS Case_

_Found lying in a pool of blood in front of the victim. The edges and part of the front cover are stained with blood. The video itself is missing and presumed stolen._

_Desk Calendar_

_A Beef Head-styled calendar that belonged to the victim. It shows Diane's work schedule for the night of the murder as 6:00-9:30 PM._

_Rose Nasty_

_A beam katana that belongs to Travis. It has two blades, one of which was the murder weapon. The other was found in Travis's motel._

_Motel Room Key_

_The key to Travis's room at Motel No More Heroes._

_Stolen VHS Tape_

_Taken from Beef Head Videos on the night of the murder and found in Travis's motel. The label reads "Bizarre Jelly 5: Extra Bukkake Special". It has security footage from the night of the murder taped over it, going from 9:00-9:42 PM._

_Answering Machine Message_

_A message left by the victim at 8:55 on the night of the murder. In it, she yells at Travis about yet another late movie rental and revokes his membership._

_Teddy Bear_

_Found in Travis's motel. Apparently, it was a gift from Sylvia._

_Schpeltiger_

_Travis's surreal motorcycle. Skid marks show that it was used recently._

_Letter of Challenge_

_A typed letter challenging Travis to a fight at Destroy Stadium. It's very muddy._

_Blood Berry_

_A blue beam katana that Travis took with him to Destroy Stadium on the night of the murder._

_Overhead Map_

_A map that shows Motel No More Heroes and Beef Head Videos around the corner from it. A restaurant named Burger Suplex is across the street from the motel._

_Door scanner_

_A tiny scanner in Beef Head Videos that reads the bar codes on packages and triggers an alarm if they're not paid for._

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright_

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and trusted friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_Travis Touchdown_

_Age: 31_

_My client, who also happens to be an assassin. He's not the most likable guy, but I know that he's at least innocent of this crime._

_Sylvia Christel_

_Age: 27_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on Travis's behalf. She's apparently his girlfriend though she doesn't seem to agree with that assessment. She's also an agent for the United Assassins Association._

_Dick Gumshoe_

_Age: 33_

_The detective on this case, as per usual. He's apparently the lesser of two evils when compared to the Santa Destroy police._

_Diane Heifer_

_Age: 23_

_The victim in this case. An employee at Beef Head Videos who was killed during her night shift._

_Jeane_

_Age: 5_

_Travis's friendly pet cat. Maya forced me to add him here._

_Henry Cooldown_

_Age: 31_

_Travis's twin brother, believe it or not. He is now acting as my new partner and bodyguard for this case._

_Bishop Shidux_

_Age: 30_

_Travis's former best friend, who was killed exactly one year before the night of the murder._

_Shelly De Killer_

_Age: Unknown_

_A professional assassin who I've crossed paths with once before. His client has hired him to stop my investigation by any means necessary._

_Miles Edgeworth_

_Age: 27_

_My childhood friend and the prosecutor on this case. He's a bit on the snobby side, be he has a good heart._

_Kimmy Howell_

_Age: 19_

_A student at Destroy University and a former opponent of Travis that also seems to have a crush on him. A bit on the crazy side._


	11. Further Complications

_I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I actually made an entire outline of this story before I started writing it. For anyone else who wants to write an Ace Attorney fic, I highly recommend doing the same. I would have fallen into a plot hole long ago if not for that._

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: Further Complications<p>

**April 14, 3:32 PM**

**Santa Destroy- Cemetery**

For a city where people died on an hourly basis, Santa Destroy's cemetery was surprisingly small. According to Henry, that was because so few of the people who died were people anyone would miss. Travis's lost friend, Bishop Shidux, was one of the lucky exceptions. The cemetery consisted mainly of several rows of graves all leading up a large, grassy hill. At the top of the hill was a single tree, followed by a wide field of tall grass. This would have all looked pretty serene if not for the massive overpass taking up the skyline behind it.

Bishop's grave sat a few feet in front of the tree. Before we got anywhere near it, we could see a stark white object sitting next to it. It looked to me like some kind of strange toy. "What the heck is this?" I asked. My wariness around strange objects in this city kept me from actually picking it up. It seemed innocent enough, but I wasn't about to risk losing my arm again.

Henry took a peek at the object and instantly provided an explanation. "That's a Glastonbury action figure. It's a giant robot that protects the world from evil alongside the Bizarre Jelly girls." I looked at him strangely. "...Or so I heard."

"Cool, but what's it doing here?" Maya asked.

"Travis and Bishop were always into the same anime. I imagine Travis left this as a gift for him when he came here."

I looked down at the weird toy again. "I don't want to take it then, but I guess I should at least make note of it."

_Glastonbury added to the Court Record._

I examined the grave further, but didn't find anything else that stuck out aside from a small divot in the side, between the stone and the ground. "This must be where the letter was placed. It had to be inserted in the side like this to keep the wind from blowing it away," I said, mostly to myself.

"Ah, here's something," Henry called out from a few feet away. We turned to him and watched as he lifted a pink object from the ground.

"Looks like a petal from some kind of flower," I observed.

This time, it was Henry giving _me _a look. "What do you mean 'some kind of flower'? It's clearly a rose petal."

"Yeah, but Nick only knows tulips and sunflowers," Maya explained.

"Really?" Henry chuckled. "Can't imagine he would do very well with a woman then."

_(Of all the things she could've remembered about me, why did it have to be THAT?)_

"So what's it doing here?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well, I don't see any roses here, so if I had to guess, it came off of a bouquet."

"A bouquet?"

"Yes, a small flower arrangement that can be carried around."

"I know what a bouquet is! I'm not _that _clueless about flowers! I'm just asking because I don't see a bouquet around here either."

"Indeed. So if there was a bouquet left here on the night of the murder, someone must have taken it."

"But why...?"

_Rose Petal added to the Court Record._

"Alright, I think that about covers this place." It wasn't much, but more than I expected to be honest.

"Uh...no, not quite." Henry gestured to the vast expanse of tall grass surrounding us.

My face dropped. "You're kidding, right? We don't really have to search through all that, do we?"

He shrugged. "We don't _have _to, just like we don't _have _to prove my brother innocent."

_(Good point.)_

"Besides, tall grass makes a pretty convenient place to hide something, don't you think?"

_(And that's another good point. Damn.)_

But just before we could begin the tedium of searching the grassy field, we heard a shout from behind us. "The police are here!"

Detective Gumshoe, flanked by several officers, strolled up to us. "Sorry folks, but we're taking over the investigation from here. I know you won't like that, but-"

"No problem."

"Can't interfere with police business."

"Have fun, Detective!"

The three of us left a thoroughly confused Gumshoe behind as we took our leave. This was one investigation I had no problem leaving to them.

* * *

><p><strong>April 14, 3:58 PM<strong>

**Santa Destroy- Detention Center**

While we waited to see what else the police investigation would uncover, I decided we should go back to talk with Travis again, now that we had a bit more info.

"Hey guys, find anything to free me yet?" Travis asked. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"Not in particular, no. But we did find something kind of interesting."

"What is it?"

"First of all, did you leave that 'Glastonbury' action figure at Bishop's grave?"

He looked a bit somber. "Yeah, that was me."

I nodded. It was good to confirm that, at least. "By any chance, did you also leave a bouquet?"

The somber look vanished. "Hell no! Do I look like the kinda guy who buys flowers? I don't know a damn thing about flowers!"

_(There's ONE thing we have in common.)_

"I don't know who left that bouquet there, but it wasn't me," he finished.

That got my attention. "Wait, so there _was _a bouquet there when you went?"

_Rose Petal updated in the Court Record._

He looked puzzled. "Well, yeah. Isn't that what you were talking about?"

"We found a rose petal at the cemetery, but not the bouquet it came from," Henry explained to him.

"Really? That's weird."

"It is," I agreed. "Any idea who left it?"

"No clue. Bishop lived here alone, so family's out. And I was pretty much his only friend. Well, except for Takashi Miike, but I doubt he would come all the way over here just to deliver a gift."

_(Takashi Miike? Isn't he some famous Japanese filmmaker? Bishop sure had connections.)_

"Hmph. You people are hopeless, you know that?"

We all turned to the door as a familiar woman came inside. "M-Ms. Christel!" She was wearing a long, beige jacket now and had large sunglasses sitting on top of her head, but this was definitely Slyvia Christel.

There were more seats, but she didn't bother to sit down. "Honestly, how did you ever get this far if you can't even do a simple process of elimination?" She shook her head in disgust.

"What do you mean?" Maya asked timidly, as nervous around this woman as I was.

"Think. If it was not Bishop's family who left the bouquet, and it was not his friends, then that only leaves casual acquaintances."

"Sure..." I admitted, not really a fan of her attitude. "But from what I know, Bishop's only real acquaintance was...oh." I felt like an idiot for not thinking of this sooner.

"What? Who is it, Nick?"

"The victim, Ms. Diane Heifer," I answered. "They were both employees at Beef Head Videos, so they would have been well-acquainted. And that would explain where she went on the night of the murder." This still left several questions unanswered though. Why would she have left at that particular time, and why was she gone for so long?"

"Woah, woah, hold on!" Travis said, pounding the table. "Bishop barely even talked to that chick! Why would she be bringing him flowers? But more importantly," he glared harshly at Sylvia. "Where the hell have _you _been all this time?!"

Travis was a rather intimidating young man, but Sylvia didn't so much as flinch. "Busy, unlike yourself. Despite what this city may think, the world does not revolve around you, Travis."

Travis just huffed and looked away. "You do realize that your work is part of the reason Travis isn't free yet, right?" Henry asked accusingly.

"Yes, yes, that bit about cleaning up the baseball stadium. I didn't know that had anything to do with this case. You can't blame me for doing my job." Henry and Travis both looked like they could very much blame her.

"So you were watching the trial this morning?" I asked.

_(At least she cares THAT much.)_

"Yes, I had to make sure I was justified hiring you."

"In that case, do you know anything else about what happened that night? Like where the victim went?"

She frowned slightly. "No. Why would I know a silly thing like that?"

There was a flash and three Psyche-Locks appeared over her.

_(Looks like Travis and Sylvia have more in common than I thought.)_

"...No reason."

"What are you doing here, Sylvia?" Travis asked. "I doubt you came by just to drop hints at us."

Something remarkable happened just then. Sylvia actually smiled, and not in a condescending way either. She actually looked affectionately at the otaku behind the glass. "I'm here to see _you_, of course. It's been a long time since we've spent any real time together."

_(Wait, didn't she just say...oh nevermind.)_

I had completely given up on trying to understand this woman. Travis apparently felt the same way as his anger evaporated and he was now looking back at her just as affectionately. "Yeah, it sure is..."

Sylvia took a seat and faced Travis through the glass. We watched this surreal scene for a moment before Sylvia suddenly whirled back around on us. "Are you still here? I want to spend some alone time with him!"

"But, our investigation-"

"OUT!"

We all got up and left without any more argument. Kicked out of two places in a row. Not the best way to start our second day of investigation. But just as I was about to close the door behind us, I overheard a bit of their conversation.

"Shit, what's going to happen to Jeane and my anime collection if I get put away?"

"Don't worry, I still have the spare key you gave me in case something happens."

_(Spare key? Why does that sound familiar?)_

I thought back to when we were investigating Travis's motel. The door was the first thing I investigated and I noticed no signs of forced entry. Meaning that the killer could have picked the lock...or used a spare key.

I immediately made a mental note of this.

_Motel Room Key updated in the Court Record._

Ms. Christel had suddenly become a lot more suspicious. I couldn't jump to conclusions yet, but whatever she was hiding behind those Psyche-Locks, I knew I had to find out.

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people._

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me._

_Crime Scene Photo_

_Shows the victim lying face down between two shelves, covered in video tapes and a burn mark on her back._

_Diane's Autopsy Report_

_Death caused by impalement from a beam katana. Time of death estimated between 9-10 PM._

_Bloody VHS Case_

_Found lying in a pool of blood in front of the victim. The edges and part of the front cover are stained with blood. The video itself is missing and presumed stolen._

_Desk Calendar_

_A Beef Head-styled calendar that belonged to the victim. It shows Diane's work schedule for the night of the murder as 6:00-9:30 PM._

_Rose Nasty_

_A beam katana that belongs to Travis. It has two blades, one of which was the murder weapon. The other was found in Travis's motel._

_Motel Room Key_

_The key to Travis's room at Motel No More Heroes. Sylvia has a spare._

_Stolen VHS Tape_

_Taken from Beef Head Videos on the night of the murder and found in Travis's motel. The label reads "Bizarre Jelly 5: Extra Bukkake Special". It has security footage from the night of the murder taped over it, going from 9:00-9:42 PM._

_Answering Machine Message_

_A message left by the victim at 8:55 on the night of the murder. In it, she yells at Travis about yet another late movie rental and revokes his membership._

_Teddy Bear_

_Found in Travis's motel. Apparently, it was a gift from Sylvia._

_Schpeltiger_

_Travis's surreal motorcycle. Skid marks show that it was used recently._

_Letter of Challenge_

_A typed letter challenging Travis to a fight at Destroy Stadium. It's very muddy._

_Blood Berry_

_A blue beam katana that Travis took with him to Destroy Stadium on the night of the murder._

_Overhead Map_

_A map that shows Motel No More Heroes and Beef Head Videos around the corner from it. A restaurant named Burger Suplex is across the street from the motel._

_Door scanner_

_A tiny scanner in Beef Head Videos that reads the bar codes on packages and triggers an alarm if they're not paid for._

_Glastonbury_

_An action figure from Travis's favorite anime that he left as a gift for Bishop._

_Bouquet_

_A bouquet brought to Bishop's grave on the night of the murder. Only a stray rose petal is left of it._

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright_

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and trusted friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_Travis Touchdown_

_Age: 31_

_My client, who also happens to be an assassin. He's not the most likable guy, but I know that he's at least innocent of this crime._

_Sylvia Christel_

_Age: 27_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on Travis's behalf. She's apparently his girlfriend though she doesn't seem to agree with that assessment. She's also an agent for the United Assassins Association._

_Dick Gumshoe_

_Age: 33_

_The detective on this case, as per usual. He's apparently the lesser of two evils when compared to the Santa Destroy police._

_Diane Heifer_

_Age: 23_

_The victim in this case. An employee at Beef Head Videos who was killed during her night shift._

_Jeane_

_Age: 5_

_Travis's friendly pet cat. Maya forced me to add him here._

_Henry Cooldown_

_Age: 31_

_Travis's twin brother, believe it or not. He is now acting as my new partner and bodyguard for this case._

_Bishop Shidux_

_Age: 30_

_Travis's former best friend, who was killed exactly one year before the night of the murder._

_Shelly De Killer_

_Age: Unknown_

_A professional assassin who I've crossed paths with once before. His client has hired him to stop my investigation by any means necessary._

_Miles Edgeworth_

_Age: 27_

_My childhood friend and the prosecutor on this case. He's a bit on the snobby side, be he has a good heart._

_Kimmy Howell_

_Age: 19_

_A student at Destroy University and a former opponent of Travis that also seems to have a crush on him. A bit on the crazy side._


	12. Back to Start

_Sorry for leaving this story in the dust for a while. I just wanted to bring my other story up to the same number of chapters to make it more even. I'll go back to going back-and-forth between them now._

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: Back to Start<p>

**April 14, 4: 10 PM **

**Santa Destroy- Burger Suplex**

For lack of much else to do until the police investigation was finished, the three of us decided to stop for lunch, though it might as well have been dinner at this time of day. It didn't take long to decide where to eat; the second Maya heard that there was a burger joint in this city, she was practically dragging us here. While we ate, I decided to at least try to make some progress by bringing up what happened at the detention center.

"Sylvia?" Henry asked, a bit skeptical. "You don't really think she did it, do you?"

I swallowed a mouthful of burger before answering. "I can't say that for sure yet, but she's definitely a suspect."

He sighed. "I suppose I can't deny that. Lord knows she's killed people before."

_(I'm never going to get used to how casually these people talk about killing.)_

"She has? You mean as part of the UAA?"

"Yes. Sometimes she's had to step in and finish off assassins herself when their opponent fails to finish the job."

"You mean when they show mercy," I corrected, my disgust for the UAA growing ever stronger.

"If you want to put it that way, yes. That's one of the main reasons Travis quit."

"Travis quit?" Maya asked, her voice muffled by a mouth full of burger.

Right. I forgot that she wasn't with me when I spoke to Sylvia in her office. "Yeah, she said that he grew a conscience and started sparing opponents."

"That's about the size of it," Henry said. "The more assassins he fought, the more he started to sympathize with them. There was this woman with a missile-shooting prosthetic leg that he refused to kill and she committed suicide instead. Then there was Kimmy Howell, who you've already been acquainted with..."

An image of the psychotic schoolgirl flashed in my mind and I shuddered. "Yes. Quite well."

"Next was this old samurai fellow. He and Travis had this long, honorable duel and just as Travis got the upper hand, Sylvia came in and gunned the guy down."

_(Really not making me less suspicious of her.)_

"And it all culminated with the Rank 2 assassin, this woman named Alice. Travis felt so guilty after killing her that he snapped at Sylvia and promised to tear down the UAA." He frowned a little. "Course', he slept with her the next morning and the UAA didn't stay down for very long, but it was a nice thought."

_(So it took him all that time to realize that killing is wrong? Well, at least he got it eventually.)_

I shook my head. "In any case, I can't make any conclusions about her until I can break those Psyche-Locks, but I don't even know where to begin with that."

"What did you ask her that made them pop up?"

"It was when I asked if she knew anything about what the victim was doing the night of the murder. It's safe to assume that she went to visit Bishop at the cemetery, but that still leaves a lot of questions unanswered."

"Hey, why don't we go back to Beef Head Videos?" Maya suggested, still chewing on a burger. Table manners were not one of her strong suits.

Henry chewed slowly on his burger in contemplation, then swallowed. "The lass has a good idea. Now that we know what to look for, maybe we can uncover some clues about what happened to the victim."

_(I better watch out, or these two are going to steal my job.)_

Slight envy aside, I had to agree. Even if it turned out to be a dead end, anything was better then sitting around eating burgers. Between this morning's trial and the three-hour drive back to Santa Destroy, we had even less time to investigate than usual. There was no time to lose.

"Right! Let's go!" I yelled, slamming my fists onto the table. My enthusiasm had once again gotten the better of me and my burger went flying off the table and into my lap, instantly ruining my suit.

Maya looked over at the spilled burger, still chewing her own. "Are you gonna finish that?"

* * *

><p><strong>April 14, 4:41 PM<strong>

**Santa Destroy- Beef Head Videos**

There was no time for any more distractions and unfortunately, that included dry cleaning. My suit was just going to have to stay a burger-stained mess until I could change it when I got home.

In the meantime, I set my mind to the task at hand and started looking for something that could tell us what Diane was up to that night. Between the three of us and the small size of the store, we were quick to confirm that almost nothing seemed any more noteworthy than last time. We were currently crouched over the remains of the security cameras that had been destroyed during the incident.

"I can see why the police couldn't get anything off the tape in this one," I said, pointing to the worse of the two. "I couldn't even count all the pieces this thing is in."

"And the other one's tape was stolen, right?" Maya asked.

"Yeah. Seems kind of weird that the killer would go through the trouble of stealing security footage from their own crime instead of just destroying it. I mean, what's the point?"

"The point was to tape it over an obscene video, apparently," Henry shrugged. "Though I can't say that makes it any less confusing."

"So what now? Are we at a dead end again?"

"There is _one _thing we haven't tried." Henry pointed a thumb over his shoulder, directly at the store's computer.

"The computer? I already looked at that."

"Ah, but did you _really _look at it? The content, not just the pretty desktop."

"Well...no...but I'm not really good with computers."

"Then it's time to get some practice!" Maya said, yanking me over to the machine and tossing me into the seat.

I stared at the screen in front of me blankly. "Okay, so what exactly am I looking for?"

"Anything that could tell us more about the victim," Henry answered. "If she's your typical employee, she probably used this computer for a lot more than just work."

_(Glad to hear our work ethic is still in the toilet.)_

"Alright..." I started tinkering around with the icons on the desktop. I only saw some generic browsers and programs at first, along with some folders containing data from the video store. I started by clicking on a browser icon and seeing what came up.

"We're in luck," Henry smiled. "Looks like she was logged into her e-mail account when the incident occurred."

A list of mail she had received was displayed on the screen in front of me. "I'm not sure this is really ethical..."

"Move aside, Nick! I know how to dig up the goods!" Maya didn't actually wait for me to move aside and just shoved me aside instead, chair and all. The girl quickly scanned her mail. "Boring. It's all just junk mail. Now let's see what she's sent." She changed the setting to show sent mail and that's when we found something interesting.

I gently pushed Maya's hands aside and opened the victim's last sent e-mail, labeled "Slight change of plans."

"I have to leave work early tonight to visit an old friend. I'll be gone by 9. I know that you said I couldn't do that, but screw your stupid policies! There are things more important in life than selling cheap videos to perverts." It was addressed to the manager.

"Geez, how did she keep her job for so long with messages like this?"

"Technically, she didn't," Henry said, chuckling a little.

_(Dark...)_

"Okay, so we know for sure that she left before 9 to go visit Bishop. Now the questions are, _why_ did she go visit him, and what took her so long to get back?"

"So...pretty much the same questions we had before?"

"Well...yeah..."

_Victim's E-mail added to the Court Record._

"At least we confirmed that," I sighed. "I don't suppose there's anything else on here that could be useful."

"Try checking some of the folders on the desktop," Henry suggested. "Maybe the store's files have something more."

I did as he said and started going through the files. It was all pretty dull, and the titles of some of these videos made me physically ill, so I was about to give up on it when Henry stopped me.

"Hold on. What's that?" He pointed to a specific folder labeled "Security". I double-clicked on it and was immediately greeted by a prompt for a password. "Damn. Should've known that would happen."

"Can you get us past this?"

He laughed. "Sorry, but I hack into _people, _not computers. It looks like we're going to have to guess it."

"I don't think we have that kind of time," I argued.

"Then it'll have to be a good guess." He thought to himself for a moment, then reached over and typed in a single word.

"BizarreJelly."

"Oh come on," I said. "You don't really think they would make it that obvious, do you?"

He clicked the enter key. A second later, a wall of security information popped up. Suddenly, it became a lot less surprising that this city had a high crime rate.

"Woah, look at all of this juicy info!" Maya said excitedly. I had to stop her from trying to open up a file containing customers' personal information.

_(I can tolerate her stealing stray objects, but not credit card numbers!)_

Other information contained in here was data on the security cameras, which unhelpfully just labeled both of them as "offline", like I needed the computer to tell me that, and a file on the small scanner placed above the door. This part threw me for a loop. "Hey, it's saying that a video was stolen on the night of the murder."

"Not just any video," Henry noted. "It's Bizarre Jelly 5: Extra Bukkake Special. The same tape that was found in Travis's motel."

"What? But I thought the whole point of taking the tape out of the case was so it _wouldn't _be registered as stolen."

"No, I think you're right about that. Look at the time. 10:14 PM. Whenever this tape was registered as stolen, it was at least fourteen minutes _after _the murder."

_Door Scanner updated in the Court Record._

"That...doesn't make any sense," I groaned, rubbing my forehead. This was just getting weirder and weirder.

Before my head could explode from the sheer absurdity, I heard the familiar Steel Samurai ringtone coming from my pocket. "Oh thank God," I sighed in relief. Finally, Gumshoe had called me.

"Hello?"

"Hey, pal! We just found something at the cemetery. Come down here and take a look. I think this is something you need to see for yourself."

"Alright, thanks Detective," I said, trying hard not to show how desperate I was for his information. I hung up the phone and slipped it back into my pocket. "Looks like the police found something," I told the others. Not wanting to waste any more time, we left the computer behind and rushed out the door. I didn't know what Gumshoe had for me, but I was confident that whatever it was would make this mystery clearer.

Because it sure as heck couldn't get any more confusing.

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people._

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me._

_Crime Scene Photo_

_Shows the victim lying face down between two shelves, covered in video tapes and a burn mark on her back._

_Diane's Autopsy Report_

_Death caused by impalement from a beam katana. Time of death estimated between 9-10 PM._

_Bloody VHS Case_

_Found lying in a pool of blood in front of the victim. The edges and part of the front cover are stained with blood. The video itself is missing and presumed stolen._

_Desk Calendar_

_A Beef Head-styled calendar that belonged to the victim. It shows Diane's work schedule for the night of the murder as 6:00-9:30 PM._

_Rose Nasty_

_A beam katana that belongs to Travis. It has two blades, one of which was the murder weapon. The other was found in Travis's motel._

_Motel Room Key_

_The key to Travis's room at Motel No More Heroes. Sylvia has a spare._

_Stolen VHS Tape_

_Taken from Beef Head Videos on the night of the murder and found in Travis's motel. The label reads "Bizarre Jelly 5: Extra Bukkake Special". It has security footage from the night of the murder taped over it, going from 9:00-9:42 PM. _

_Answering Machine Message_

_A message left by the victim at 8:55 on the night of the murder. In it, she yells at Travis about yet another late movie rental and revokes his membership._

_Teddy Bear_

_Found in Travis's motel. Apparently, it was a gift from Sylvia._

_Schpeltiger_

_Travis's surreal motorcycle. Skid marks show that it was used recently._

_Letter of Challenge_

_A typed letter challenging Travis to a fight at Destroy Stadium. It's very muddy._

_Blood Berry_

_A blue beam katana that Travis took with him to Destroy Stadium on the night of the murder._

_Overhead Map_

_A map that shows Motel No More Heroes and Beef Head Videos around the corner from it. A restaurant named Burger Suplex is across the street from the motel._

_Door scanner_

_A tiny scanner in Beef Head Videos that reads the bar codes on packages and triggers an alarm if they're not paid for. It registered the missing tape as stolen on the night of the murder at 10:14 PM._

_Glastonbury_

_An action figure from Travis's favorite anime that he left as a gift for Bishop._

_Bouquet_

_A bouquet brought to Bishop's grave on the night of the murder. Only a stray rose petal is left of it._

_Victim's E-mail_

_An e-mail message sent by the victim to her manager on the night of the murder, confirming that she was leaving before 9:00._

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright_

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and trusted friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_Travis Touchdown_

_Age: 31_

_My client, who also happens to be an assassin. He's not the most likable guy, but I know that he's at least innocent of this crime._

_Sylvia Christel_

_Age: 27_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on Travis's behalf. She's apparently his girlfriend though she doesn't seem to agree with that assessment. She's also an agent for the United Assassins Association._

_Dick Gumshoe_

_Age: 33_

_The detective on this case, as per usual. He's apparently the lesser of two evils when compared to the Santa Destroy police._

_Diane Heifer_

_Age: 23_

_The victim in this case. An employee at Beef Head Videos who was killed during her night shift._

_Jeane_

_Age: 5_

_Travis's friendly pet cat. Maya forced me to add him here._

_Henry Cooldown_

_Age: 31_

_Travis's twin brother, believe it or not. He is now acting as my new partner and bodyguard for this case._

_Bishop Shidux_

_Age: 30_

_Travis's former best friend, who was killed exactly one year before the night of the murder._

_Shelly De Killer_

_Age: Unknown_

_A professional assassin who I've crossed paths with once before. His client has hired him to stop my investigation by any means necessary._

_Miles Edgeworth_

_Age: 27_

_My childhood friend and the prosecutor on this case. He's a bit on the snobby side, be he has a good heart._

_Kimmy Howell_

_Age: 19_

_A student at Destroy University and a former opponent of Travis that also seems to have a crush on him. A bit on the crazy side._


	13. Allies In Justice

_Man, the Court Record is just getting bigger and bigger. I can only imagine how massive it's going to be by the end of this. _

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: Allies In Justice<p>

**April 14, 5:03 PM**

**Santa Destroy – Cemetery**

I knew something was wrong the moment we walked in.

The cemetery was completely deserted, which would normally not be so strange, except for the fact that we were expecting a whole squad of police to be here. "Um...where is everyone?" Maya asked.

"I don't know, and I don't like it," Henry said, looking around warily, one hand already gripping the beam katana on his belt. No doubt, he had an instinct for this sort of thing.

"Glad you could make it, pal!" I sighed in relief. He had just been running late. I turned around, ready to greet Detective Gumshoe...

...and saw Shelly De Killer.

"GAAAHHH!" I leapt back in shock."H-How did you-?"

De Killer stared at me with his usual empty expression. "Getting a hold of the detective's phone was a simple matter. Mimicking his voice was only slightly harder. A good assassin has access to a wide variety of skills, Mr. Attorney."

"Indeed," Henry said, activating his katana and standing between us once again. "Perhaps I could show you some."

"My, still as arrogant as ever." De Killer withdrew his deadly knife and pointed it at the Irishman. "I do not fear you _or_ your little toy sword. But we do have a duel to finish. Are you ready for Round 2?"

"Always." Henry crouched down low and brought his katana back, prepared to thrust it into his opponent.

"Good. Because I will carry out my client's wishes and kill Mr. Attorney no matter how hard you fight."

*BANG*

De Killer's knife flew out of his hand and stabbed itself into the ground several feet away. The surprised assassin turned toward the gun that had shot at him, as did the three of us.

Detective Gumshoe stood there, arm shaking as he held the gun pointed at De Killer. Despite the impreesive feat he had just performed, he was clearly terrified. "H-H-Hey! Y-Y-ou better f-freeze, pal!" Needless to say, De Killer was not intimidated. He seemed much more interested in the man next to Gumshoe.

"Shelly De Killer, we meet again," Miles Edgeworth spoke, glaring icily at the assassin. "I'd say it has been a while, but really it has been far too brief."

"Ah, Mr. Prosecutor," De Killer greeted politely. "Yes, our paths last crossed mere days ago."

_(Huh? Edgeworth and De Killer met each other recently?)_

I pushed that curiosity out of my head for now, as this was _really _not the time for it, and watched the scene unfold in front of me. De Killer looked between Edgeworth, Henry, me, his dropped knife, and back to Edgeworth, considering his options. There was a long, tense moment of silence before he finally spoke again. "But I'm afraid I must be going already. Farewell."

He reached toward his shirt pocket and the next thing I saw was a blinding light filling my vision. I instinctively covered my eyes and reeled back in pain. After a few moments, I could slowly open them again, and sure enough, De Killer was gone.

Everyone else around me was starting to recover as well. "Dang, he got away!" Gumshoe shouted. "Should I mobilize the units to go after him, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"Don't bother, detective. I didn't really expect to catch him anyway." Edgeworth turned to us. "Are you all okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Maya said, rubbing her eyes. "Might take a while for all these spots to go away, though."

Henry had quickly deactivated his beam katana as soon as De Killer vanished. No need to cause more trouble for themselves. "I'm alright."

"I had a feeling something was wrong when the detective lost his phone. The police left the cemetery, but Gumshoe and I hid and watched from a distance to see if you would show up. It's a good thing we did."

Henry seemed to realize that this probably meant they knew he was an assassin and changed the subject. "You know De Killer too, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"Yes," he said, with no hint of happiness. "Wright and I encountered him in a case way back."

"Didn't he also mention that you saw him again not long ago?" I asked.

He nodded. "I was involved in this large case a few days back where I met De Killer again. He was disguised as an ice cream salesman and working for this murderous clown."

_(Ice cream salesman? Murderous clown? Now I HAVE to know about this.)_

Unfortunately, Edgeworth had more important things to talk about. "But enough about me." He gave me a look that reminded me of a teacher who had caught a student passing notes in class. "Is there something you would like to share with me, Wright?"

I gulped. "Uh..."

"Yeah, what's the big idea, pal?" Gumshoe glared at me as well. "Why didn't you tell us De Killer was after you?"

Maya and Henry didn't look ready to jump to my defense so I had to handle this myself. "I know I shouldv'e...I just thought that you knowing about De Killer's involvement would only get in the way of finding the truth."

Surprisingly, Edgeworth somewhat agreed with me. "You may be right. It's not like we can prove he has any real connection to the case."

"See? Then you understand-"

"However," He cut me off. "That is not the point. As easy as it may be to forget sometimes, you are my _friend, _Wright! And I don't appreciate my friends hiding something like this from me."

I hung my head, guiltily. "R-Right...I'm sorry." Edgeworth shook his head disapprovingly, but seemed satisfied.

"Now that that's settled," Henry walked over to where De Killer's knife was embedded. "Do you think this blade could help us prove anything?"

"Doubtful," Egdeworth said. "He's too careful. If there was anything of importance that knife could tell us, he wouldn't have left it behind. Still, no reason not to analyze it anyway. Detective, call in the forensics team to collect the knife. And quickly, before De Killer tries to reclaim it."

"Uh...I can't, sir. He took my phone."

Edgeworth sighed. "Then borrow mine." He passed his phone to Gumshoe, who hurriedly made a call to forensics.

_De Killer's Knife added to the Court Record._

While we waited for them to show up, Edgeworth probed me for more information. "What exactly do you know about De Killer's involvement?"

"Not much, really. I just know that his client wants me out of this investigation one way or another."

"So he just wants you off the investigation? And you're continuing it, anyway? I can't decide if that's bravery or idiocy."

"You know how I feel about upholding my duty to my clients, Edgeworth. As far as I see it, this only proves that Mr. Touchdown can't be responsible."

"It certainly does seem odd for him to want his own attorney dead," Edgeworth admitted. "But this is not concrete proof of his innocence. You said it yourself. We can't let this issue get in the way of finding the truth." I nodded in agreement. I honestly didn't want Edgeworth to be fully on my side. That would only make the truth harder to uncover. But as long as he had reasonable doubt about Travis's guilt, he would still be a great help to me in court tomorrow.

"So I guess this was another dead end, huh?" Maya asked, drooping down sadly.

Edgeworth gave an amused smirk. "Actually, that's the funny thing. Even though the call was a trap, we really _did _find something."

"Seriously?" I couldn't hide my shock.

"Yes. The forensics team should be bringing it, so let's just wait for them."

Edgeworth refused to tell us anything more until forensics arrived, no matter how many ways Maya asked him. It was an agonizing ten minutes before they got here. They immediately went to claim De Killer's knife, while looking around nervously for the assassin himself. Edgeworth had to hurry in and stop them before they tried to take off. He came back a moment later, holding a plastic bag. "This is what we found. It was in the tall grass."

The object inside was clearly a cell phone, but not a complete one. It was in so many pieces I was impressed the police managed to find them all in that grass. "Before you ask, no, it doesn't work," Edgeworth said sarcastically. "We were unable to get any information from the phone's data. However, we _did _find traces of fingerprints belonging to the victim, so we believe it to be hers."

"So do you think she dropped it, then?"

"Not likely. Dropping a phone from such a short height wouldn't break it so thoroughly. Furthermore, forensics found signs that the phone had been intentionally destroyed."

_Cell Phone added to the Court Record._

My eyes widened. "Do you think she could have been killed _here _then?"

"Quite possibly."

"Oy vey," Henry shook his head. "Do your cases normally get so convoluted?"

"Yes," Edgeworth and I answered in unison.

"Why do I even ask any more?"

_(Don't worry, Henry. You'll get used to it...eventually.)_

"So I guess Diane was doing more here then just visiting Bishop," Maya said.

"Yes, that would explain why she was gone so long."

"Do you know something that I don't?" Edgeworth asked. His tone wasn't accusing, just curious.

I didn't hesitate to tell him. It was only fair after what he had just given us. "We examined the computer back at Beef Head Videos. There was an e-mail sent by the victim to her manager, explaining that she was leaving her shift sometime before 9."

"I'm not sure how ethical that is..." Edgeworth said, raising an eyebrow. "...but it certainly sounds like useful information. Is that it?"

"No, there was also a rose petal we found at the scene. According to Travis, it came from a bouquet he saw here the night of the murder."

"I see," Edgeworht nodded. "Then it seems very likely indeed that this is where the victim was killed. Although I'm sure you realize the implications of that..."

I did. This placed the victim and the defendant together in the probable crime scene at around the same time. Definitely not good for my case, but at least things were starting to come together. "If that's it, then I'll be going back to my own investigation now. See you in court, Wright." Edgeworth gave me a small nod and left us.

"Well, that was interesting," Henry noted. "I thought the two of you were enemies."

"Not really," Maya explained. "Nick and Mr. Edgeworth are actually good friends, just on opposite sides."

"That's right. We may act like rivals in the courtroom, but only because that's our job. The defense and the prosecution need to oppose each other in order to find the truth, even if we're after the same goal."

Henry smiled appreciatively. "Interesting, indeed. Reminds me a little of Travis and myself, minus the whole 'truth' part."

I watched Edgeworth as he met up with Gumshoe and they both left to carry out their investigation somewhere else. I still wasn't too confident I could win this case, but with Edgeworth backing me up, I figured I might just have a chance.

* * *

><p><em>Court Record:<em>

_Attorney's Badge_

_My trusty badge that proves I am a defense attorney. Always fun to present to random people._

_Magatama_

_A gift from Maya and my key to the hearts of those who try to hide secrets from me._

_Crime Scene Photo_

_Shows the victim lying face down between two shelves, covered in video tapes and a burn mark on her back._

_Diane's Autopsy Report_

_Death caused by impalement from a beam katana. Time of death estimated between 9-10 PM._

_Bloody VHS Case_

_Found lying in a pool of blood in front of the victim. The edges and part of the front cover are stained with blood. The video itself is missing and presumed stolen._

_Desk Calendar_

_A Beef Head-styled calendar that belonged to the victim. It shows Diane's work schedule for the night of the murder as 6:00-9:30 PM._

_Rose Nasty_

_A beam katana that belongs to Travis. It has two blades, one of which was the murder weapon. The other was found in Travis's motel._

_Motel Room Key_

_The key to Travis's room at Motel No More Heroes. Sylvia has a spare._

_Stolen VHS Tape_

_Taken from Beef Head Videos on the night of the murder and found in Travis's motel. The label reads "Bizarre Jelly 5: Extra Bukkake Special". It has security footage from the night of the murder taped over it, going from 9:00-9:42 PM._

_Answering Machine Message_

_A message left by the victim at 8:55 on the night of the murder. In it, she yells at Travis about yet another late movie rental and revokes his membership._

_Teddy Bear_

_Found in Travis's motel. Apparently, it was a gift from Sylvia._

_Schpeltiger_

_Travis's surreal motorcycle. Skid marks show that it was used recently._

_Letter of Challenge_

_A typed letter challenging Travis to a fight at Destroy Stadium. It's very muddy._

_Blood Berry_

_A blue beam katana that Travis took with him to Destroy Stadium on the night of the murder._

_Overhead Map_

_A map that shows Motel No More Heroes and Beef Head Videos around the corner from it. A restaurant named Burger Suplex is across the street from the motel._

_Door scanner_

_A tiny scanner in Beef Head Videos that reads the bar codes on packages and triggers an alarm if they're not paid for. It registered the missing tape as stolen on the night of the murder at 10:14 PM._

_Glastonbury_

_An action figure from Travis's favorite anime that he left as a gift for Bishop._

_Bouquet_

_A bouquet brought to Bishop's grave on the night of the murder. Only a stray rose petal is left of it._

_Victim's E-mail_

_An e-mail message sent by the victim to her manager on the night of the murder, confirming that she was leaving before 9:00._

_De Killer's Knife _

_A short knife used by Shelly De Killer. Currently in possession of forensics._

_Cell Phone_

_A destroyed cell phone presumably belonging to the victim. Signs indicate it was intentionally smashed._

_Profiles:_

_Phoenix Wright_

_Age: 27_

_I've been a defense attorney for over three years now and it doesn't look like the job is going to get any easier._

_Maya Fey_

_Age: 20_

_My assistant and trusted friend since the beginning of my career. Has a fondness for burgers and stealing things._

_Travis Touchdown_

_Age: 31_

_My client, who also happens to be an assassin. He's not the most likable guy, but I know that he's at least innocent of this crime._

_Sylvia Christel_

_Age: 27_

_A strange woman with a strange accent. She called me to take the case on Travis's behalf. She's apparently his girlfriend though she doesn't seem to agree with that assessment. She's also an agent for the United Assassins Association._

_Dick Gumshoe_

_Age: 33_

_The detective on this case, as per usual. He's apparently the lesser of two evils when compared to the Santa Destroy police._

_Diane Heifer_

_Age: 23_

_The victim in this case. An employee at Beef Head Videos who was killed during her night shift._

_Jeane_

_Age: 5_

_Travis's friendly pet cat. Maya forced me to add him here._

_Henry Cooldown_

_Age: 31_

_Travis's twin brother, believe it or not. He is now acting as my new partner and bodyguard for this case._

_Bishop Shidux_

_Age: 30_

_Travis's former best friend, who was killed exactly one year before the night of the murder._

_Shelly De Killer_

_Age: Unknown_

_A professional assassin who I've crossed paths with once before. His client has hired him to stop my investigation by any means necessary._

_Miles Edgeworth_

_Age: 27_

_My childhood friend and the prosecutor on this case. He's a bit on the snobby side, be he has a good heart._

_Kimmy Howell_

_Age: 19_

_A student at Destroy University and a former opponent of Travis that also seems to have a crush on him. A bit on the crazy side._


End file.
